India's Balance of Payments as per 2015-16

(US$ Million)
Particulars Apr-Jun 2015 PR Jul-Sep 2015 PR Oct-Dec 2015 PR Jan-Mar 2016 P Apr-Mar 2015-16 P
 
    Credit Debit Net Credit Debit Net Credit Debit Net Credit Debit Net Credit Debit Net
126879 13299 -6119 12728 13582 -8539 122564 12967 -7112 12465 124969 -318 501381 523469 -22088
1 Current Account (1.A+1.B+1.C) 9 7 6 5 1
106291 12271 -16424 10630 12563 - 102841 11880 - 10524 113921 -8678 420676 481079 -60402
5 1 9 1933 4 1596 4
1.A Goods and Services (1.A.a+1.A.b) 8 3
68025 10220 -34175 67573 10474 - 64937 98913 - 65831 90586 -24755 266365 396444 -
0 6 3717 3397 13007
1.A.a Goods (1.A.a.1 to 1.A.a.3) 3 5 9
66357 94680 -28323 67401 94763 - 64162 89886 - 68053 85295 -17242 265972 364625 -98653
2736 2572
1.A.a.1 General merchandise on a BOP basis 3 5
1.A.a.1.1 Re-exports                              
1.A.a.2 Net exports of goods under merchanting 1668 0 1668 172 0 172 776 0 776 -2222 0 -2222 394 0 394
1.A.a.2.1 Goods acquired under merchanting (negative credits) -2161   -2161 -4968   -4968 -4148   -4148 -4265   -4265 -15542 0 -15542
1.A.a.2.2 Goods sold under merchanting 3829   3829 5140   5140 4924   4924 2043   2043 15936 0 15936
1.A.a.3 Nonmonetary gold   7520 -7520   9982 -9982   9027 -9027   5291 -5291 0 31820 -31820
38266 20515 17751 38728 20893 1783 37904 19891 1801 39413 23336 16077 154311 84635 69676
1.A.b Services (1.A.b.1 to 1.A.b.13) 5 3
Manufacturing services on physical inputs owned by 26 4 22 94 5 89 24 10 14 40 26 14 183 45 138
1.A.b.1 others
1.A.b.1.1 Goods for processing in reporting economy 26 4 22 94 5 89 24 10 14 40 26 14 183 45 138
1.A.b.1.2 Goods for processing abroad                              
1.A.b.2 Maintenance and repair services n.i.e. 43 83 -40 41 65 -24 37 93 -56 31 83 -51 152 324 -171
1.A.b.3 Transport 3608 4128 -520 3535 3837 -301 3310 3450 -140 3550 3666 -115 14004 15080 -1076
1.A.b.3.1 Sea transport 2412 2402 9 2371 2398 -27 2252 2171 81 2455 2322 133 9489 9293 196
23 95 -72 23 73 -49 24 59 -35 25 59 -35 95 286 -191
1.A.b.3.1.1 Passenger
1937 1946 -9 1933 1894 39 1864 1683 181 1923 1836 88 7657 7359 298
1.A.b.3.1.2 Freight
452 361 91 415 431 -17 364 429 -65 507 427 80 1737 1649 89
1.A.b.3.1.3 Other
1.A.b.3.2 Air transport 1122 1634 -512 1088 1293 -205 998 1200 -201 1032 1290 -258 4240 5417 -1177
120 746 -625 86 586 -500 73 528 -455 71 547 -476 351 2407 -2057
1.A.b.3.2.1 Passenger
950 791 159 917 629 288 866 586 281 902 619 283 3635 2625 1010
1.A.b.3.2.2 Freight
52 97 -46 85 78 7 59 86 -27 59 124 -65 255 385 -130
1.A.b.3.2.3 Other
1.A.b.3.3 Other modes of transport 69 83 -14 71 139 -69 55 56 -1 60 51 9 255 329 -74
0 3 -3 2 1 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 4 4 0
1.A.b.3.3.1 Passenger
69 80 -11 69 139 -70 54 56 -2 60 50 9 251 325 -74
1.A.b.3.3.2 Freight
                             
1.A.b.3.3.3 Other
1.A.b.3.4 Postal and courier services 5 8 -3 6 6 0 4 23 -19 4 3 0 19 41 -22
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0
1.A.b.3.4.1 Sea transport
4 2 2 4 2 2 3 2 2 3 2 1 14 8 6
1.A.b.3.4.2 Air transport
 1 6 -5 1 3 -2 1 21 -20 1 1 0 5 32 -27
1.A.b.3.4.3 Other modes of transport
1.A.b.3.0.1 Passenger 144 844 -700 111 659 -549 99 587 -488 96 607 -511 450 2697 -2248
1.A.b.3.0.2 Freight 2955 2817 138 2919 2662 257 2784 2325 459 2885 2505 380 11543 10309 1234
1.A.b.3.0.3 Others 504 458 45 500 509 -9 423 516 -93 566 550 15 1992 2033 -41
1.A.b.4 Travel 4566 3840 727 5037 4015 1022 5761 3357 2404 5904 3580 2324 21268 14792 6476
1.A.b.4.1 Business 409 1561 -1152 774 1513 -738 607 1432 -824 601 1555 -954 2392 6061 -3668
1.A.b.4.2 Personal 4157 2279 1878 4263 2502 1760 5154 1925 3228 5303 2025 3277 18876 8731 10144
56 51 67 62 71 68 59 55 252 236
1.A.b.4.2.1 Health-related 5 5 4 3 17
166 -229 159 -576 126 -276 106 -343 557 -1423
1.A.b.4.2.2 Education-related 395 734 401 449 1980
3935 2056 4037 2274 4956 3436 5138 3565 18066 11332
1.A.b.4.2.3 Other 1878 1763 1520 1573 6735
1.A.b.5 Construction 352 233 120 366 229 137 345 180 165 499 314 185 1562 955 607
1.A.b.5.1 Construction abroad 147 198 -51 230 157 72 201 150 50 322 163 159 900 668 232
1.A.b.5.2 Construction in the reporting economy 205 35 170 136 72 64 144 29 115 177 151 26 662 287 375
1.A.b.6 Insurance and pension services 482 282 200 552 286 266 449 334 115 520 249 271 2002 1151 852
1.A.b.6.1 Direct insurance 366 8 358 359 10 349 334 13 321 339 6 333 1399 37 1362
1.A.b.6.2 Reinsurance 83 266 -183 164 253 -88 98 305 -207 160 218 -58 506 1042 -536
1.A.b.6.3 Auxiliary insurance services 23 5 18 27 7 20 15 5 10 16 5 12 81 22 59
1.A.b.6.4 Pension and standardized guarantee services 11 4 7 1 16 -15 1 11 -9 4 19 -15 17 50 -33
1.A.b.7 Financial services 1286 778 509 1717 875 842 958 887 72 983 596 387 4944 3135 1809
1.A.b.7.1 Explicitly charged and other financial services 1159 672 488 1396 558 838 590 589 0 765 466 299 3910 2285 1625
Financial intermediation services indirectly 127 106 21 321 316 4 368 297 71 218 130 88 1034 850 184
1.A.b.7.2 measured
1.A.b.8 Charges for the use of intellectual property n.i.e. 162 1485 -1323 100 1073 -973 130 1245 -1114 97 1088 -991 489 4891 -4402
Telecommunications, computer, and information 18731 933 17797 19354 1002 1835 19728 949 1877 18750 1192 17558 76563 4076 72487
1.A.b.9 services 2 9
1.A.b.9.1 Telecommunications services 495 154 341 592 280 312 483 223 260 601 344 257 2171 1001 1170
18188 676 17512 18706 648 1805 19195 639 1855 18064 736 17328 74153 2699 71454
1.A.b.9.2 Computer services 8 6
1.A.b.9.3 Information services 48 103 -55 57 74 -18 50 87 -37 84 111 -27 238 375 -137
1.A.b.10 Other business services 7792 7289 503 7244 7496 -252 6667 7646 -979 7291 8664 -1373 28994 31095 -2101
1.A.b.10.1 Research and development services 379 84 295 314 79 234 320 91 229 473 85 389 1486 339 1147
1.A.b.10.2 Professional and management consulting services 3891 2360 1531 4188 2319 1869 3952 2425 1527 3926 2307 1619 15957 9411 6546
1.A.b.10.3 Technical, trade-related, and other business services 3522 4845 -1323 2742 5098 -2356 2395 5129 -2735 2892 6273 -3381 11550 21345 -9794
1.A.b.11 Personal, cultural, and recreational services 424 489 -65 302 421 -119 261 161 100 338 150 188 1325 1221 104
1.A.b.11.1 Audiovisual and related services 86 52 35 82 51 32 86 26 61 113 33 80 368 161 207
1.A.b.11.2 Other personal, cultural, and recreational services 337 437 -100 220 370 -150 175 135 40 226 117 108 957 1059 -102
1.A.b.12 Government goods and services n.i.e. 131 269 -139 168 247 -79 147 123 25 133 230 -97 579 869 -291
1.A.b.13 Others n.i.e. 663 701 -38 219 1343 -1124 86 1457 -1371 1277 3499 -2222 2245 7000 -4755
1.B Primary Income (1.B.1to1.B.3) 3320 9181 -5861 3907 9391 -5484 3798 10206 -6408 3679 10300 -6621 14703 39078 -24375
1.B.1 Compensation of employees 883 526 357 998 595 403 880 566 314 839 551 288 3,600 2,238 1362
1.B.2 Investment income 2039 8464 -6425 2495 8624 -6129 2318 9535 -7217 2419 9589 -7170 9271 36211 -26941
1.B.2.1 Direct investment 1205 3204 -1998 1315 3086 -1771 1352 4062 -2710 1406 4525 -3119 5278 14877 -9598
-1957 -1755 -2686 -3096 -9494
1.B.2.1.1 Income on equity and investment fund shares 1201 3,158 1313 3,068 1338 4,025 1366 4,462 5218 14,712
 -41 -16 -24 -24 -104
1.B.2.1.2 Interest 5 46 2 18 13 37 40 64 61 165
1.B.2.2 Portfolio investment 22 2380 -2358 31 2414 -2383 42 2336 -2294 26 1886 -1860 121 9016 -8895
Investment income on equity and investment fund 0 930 -930 0 1271 -1271 0 985 -985 0 795 -795 0 3982 -3982
1.B.2.2.1 shares
1.B.2.2.2 Interest 22 1450 -1428 31 1144 -1113 42 1351 -1309 26 1090 -1064 121 5034 -4913
1.B.2.3 Other investment 84 2880 -2796 157 3122 -2966 159 3136 -2978 160 3177 -3017 560 12316 -11756
1.B.2.4 Reserve assets 728 1 727 992 1 991 766 1 766 826 1 825 3312 3 3309
1.B.3 Other primary income 398 191 206 414 172 242 600 105 495 421 160 261 1832 629 1203
17269 1103 16166 17080 797 1628 15925 665 1525 15729 747 14982 66002 3312 62690
1.C Secondary Income (1.C.1+1.C.2) 3 9
1.C.1 Financial corporations, nonfinancial corporations, 17134 867 16267 16996 575 1642 15773 469 1530 15689 542 15146 65592 2453 63139
households, and NPISHs 1 5
1.C.1.1 Personal transfers (Current transfers between resident and 16529 790 15739 16455 515 1594 15282 412 1486 15155 463 14692 63421 2180 61241
non-resident households) 1 9
                             
Of which:  
9887 790 9097 10828 515 1031 8469 412 8057 8473 463 8010 37656 2180 35477
1.C.1.1.1 Workers’ remittances 3
1.C.1.2 Other current transfers 605 76 529 541 60 480 492 57 435 534 80 454 2,171 273 1898
1.C.2 General Governments 134 236 -102 84 222 -138 151 197 -46 40 205 -165 410 859 -449
2 Capital Account (2.1+2.2) 84 76 8 83 79 4 64 46 18 73 62 11 304 263 41
Gross acquisitions (DR.)/disposals (CR.) of non-produced 3 11 -8 10 14 -3 10 5 5 27 7 20 51 37 13
2.1 nonfinancial assets
2.2 Capital transfers 81 65 16 73 65 8 54 41 13 46 55 -9 253 226 27
2.2.1 General government 12 25 -13 5 24 -20 12 21 -10 1 21 -20 29 91 -63
2.2.1.                              
1 Debt forgiveness
2.2.1. 12 25 -13 5 24 -20 12 21 -10 1 21 -20 29 91 -63
2 Other capital transfers
Financial corporations, nonfinancial corporations, 69 40 29 68 41 27 42 20 23 45 34 11 225 135 90
2.2.2 households, and NPISHs
2.2.2.1 Debt forgiveness                              
2.2.2.2 Other capital transfers including migrants transfers 69 40 29 68 41 27 42 20 23 45 34 11 225 135 90
140967 13378 7186 12738 11842 8954 115050 10821 6831 12724 127091 149 510639 487519 23120
3 Financial Account (3.1 to 3.5) 1 2 8 8 0
15449 5447 10003 11332 4813 6519 16982 6280 1070 16114 7318 8797 59878 23857 36021
3.1 Direct Investment (3.1A+3.1B) 2
14129 2680 11448 10363 2205 8157 16315 2399 1391 14752 3367 11384 55559 10652 44907
3.1.A Direct Investment in India 6
12050 2617 9432 9724 2201 7523 15757 2363 1339 13994 3343 10651 51525 10524 41000
3.1.1 Equity and investment fund shares 4
9735 2617 7117 7355 2201 5154 13127 2363 1076 10895 3343 7553 41112 10524 30587
3.1.1.1 Equity other than reinvestment of earnings 3
9735 2617 7117 7355 2201 5154 13127 2363 1076 10895 3343 7553 41112 10524 30587
3.1.1.1.1 Direct investor in direct investment enterprises 3
Direct investment enterprises in direct investor                              
3.1.1.1.2 (reverse investment)
                             
3.1.1.1.3 Between fellow enterprises
3.1.1.2 Reinvestment of earnings 2315   2315 2369   2369 2631   2631 3098   3098 10413 0 10413
3.1.2 Debt instruments 2079 63 2016 639 5 634 558 36 522 758 25 733 4034 128 3906
 3.1.2.1 Direct investor in direct investment enterprises 2079 63 2016 639 5 634 558 36 522 758 25 733 4034 128 3906
Direct investment enterprises in direct investor (reverse                              
3.1.2.2 investment)
3.1.2.3 Between fellow enterprises                              
3.1.B Direct Investment by India 1321 2766 -1446 970 2608 -1638 667 3881 -3214 1363 3950 -2588 4320 13205 -8886
3.1.1 Equity and investment fund shares 1321 1994 -674 970 1860 -890 667 2768 -2101 1363 3201 -1838 4320 9823 -5503
3.1.1.1 Equity other than reinvestment of earnings 1321 1160 161 970 1025 -56 667 1934 -1267 1363 2367 -1004 4320 6486 -2166
1321 1160 161 970 1025 -56 667 1934 -1267 1363 2367 -1004 4320 6486 -2166
3.1.1.1.1 Direct investor in direct investment enterprises
Direct investment enterprises in direct investor                              
3.1.1.1.2 (reverse investment)
                             
3.1.1.1.3 Between fellow enterprises
3.1.1.2 Reinvestment of earnings   834 -834   834 -834   834 -834   834 -834 0 3337 -3337
3.1.2 Debt instruments 0 772 -772 0 748 -748 0 1113 -1113 0 749 -749 0 3382 -3382
3.1.2.1 Direct investor in direct investment enterprises   772 -772   748 -748   1113 -1113   749 -749 0 3382 -3382
Direct investment enterprises in direct investor                              
3.1.2.2 (reverse investment)
3.1.2.3 Between fellow enterprises                              
3.2 Portfolio Investment 63655 63705 -50 55067 58536 -3469 46632 46078 554 50828 52366 -1538 216181 220685 -4503
3.2A Portfolio Invesment in India 63395 63612 -216 54878 58453 -3575 46521 45957 563 50540 51327 -787 215334 219349 -4016
3.2.1 Equity and investment fund shares 50887 50607 280 48068 51434 -3366 36520 37148 -629 40988 40805 183 176463 179995 -3533
3.2.2 Debt securities 12508 13004 -496 6810 7019 -209 10001 8809 1192 9552 10522 -970 38871 39354 -483
3.2.B Portfolio Invesment by India 260 93 167 189 83 106 111 121 -9 288 1038 -751 848 1335 -487
Financial derivatives (other than reserves) and 3847 4594 -747 2751 4178 -1427 3066 2788 278 4858 2330 2528 14522 13891 631
3.3 employee stock options
3.4 Other investment 58016 48605 9411 57375 50901 6474 48370 49016 -646 55441 61803 -6363 219202 210326 8876
3.4.1 Other equity (ADRs/GDRs) 273 0 273 100 0 100 0 0 0 0 0 0 373 0 373
3.4.2 Currency and deposits 16922 11313 5610 16184 11960 4225 11831 10279 1552 15086 10664 4422 60024 44216 15808
3.4.2.1 Central bank (Rupee Debt Movements; NRG) 0 277 -277 0 3 -3 2 0 2 34 0 34 36 279 -243
Deposit-taking corporations, except the central bank 16922 11036 5886 16184 11957 4227 11829 10279 1550 15052 10664 4388 59988 43936 16052
3.4.2.2 (NRI Deposits)
3.4.2.3 General government                              
3.4.2.4 Other sectors                              
Loans (External Assistance, ECBs and Banking 17400 11265 6135 15174 13940 1234 13556 14334 -778 13011 27804 -14793 59140 67343 -8203
3.4.3 Capital)
3.4.3A Loans to India 16700 11050 5650 14907 13765 1141 13108 14005 -897 11070 26033 -14962 55785 64853 -9068
3.4.3.1 Central bank                              
3.4.3.2 Deposit-taking corporations, except the central bank 10704 5297 5407 8786 5711 3075 5517 5754 -236 3853 17277 -13424 28860 34039 -5179
3.4.3.3 General government (External Assistance) 1486 1074 412 963 958 4 1498 1047 451 2119 1021 1098 6065 4099 1966
3.4.3.4 Other sectors (External Commercial Borrowings) 4510 4680 -170 5158 7096 -1938 6093 7205 -1112 5099 7735 -2636 20860 26716 -5856
3.4.3B Loans by India 700 214 485 267 175 92 447 329 118 1941 1771 169 3355 2490 865
3.4.3.1 Central bank                              
3.4.3.2 Deposit-taking corporations, except the central bank                              
3.4.3.3 General government. 14 134 -120 14 131 -117 15 129 -113 15 126 -111 58 519 -461
3.4.3.4 Other sectors 686 81 605 253 44 209 432 200 232 1926 1646 280 3297 1970 1326
3.4.4 Insurance, pension, and standardized guarantee 35 34 0 34 10 23 311 441 -130 28 709 -681 407 1194 -787
 schemes
3.4.5 Trade credit and advances 22545 24905 -2360 23213 23316 -103 20729 22515 -1786 23556 20917 2639 90043 91653 -1610
3.4.5.1 Central bank                              
3.4.5.2 General government                              
3.4.5.3 Deposit-taking corporations                              
3.4.5.4 Other sectors 22545 24905 -2360 23213 23316 -103 20729 22515 -1786 23556 20917 2639 90043 91653 -1610
3.4.6 Other accounts receivable/payable 841 1089 -248 2671 1675 995 1943 1447 496 3760 1709 2051 9215 5920 3294
3.4.7 Special drawing rights                              
3.5 Reserve assets 0 11430 -11430 856 0 856 0 4056 -4056 0 3274 -3274 856 18761 -17905
3.5.1 Monetary gold                              
3.5.2 Special drawing rights n.a.                              
3.5.3 Reserve position in the IMF n.a.                              
3.5.4 Other reserve assets (Foreign Currency Assets) 0 11430 -11430 856 0 856 0 4056 -4056 0 3274 -3274 856 18761 -17905
3.5.4.1 Currency,deposits and securities   11430 -11430 856   856   4056 -4056   3274 -3274 856 18761 -17905
3.5.4.2 Financial derivatives                              
3.5.4.3 Other claims                              
140967 13378 7186 12738 11842 8954 115050 10821 6831 12724 127091 149 510639 487519 23120
3 Total assets/liabilities 1 2 8 8 0
Of which:                              
(by
instrument):  
68399 59941 8458 61736 59766 1969 56431 45629 1080 61517 51426 10091 248083 216762 31321
3.0.1 Equity and investment fund shares 2
3.0.2 Debt instruments 71454 61322 10133 62020 56987 5033 56675 57086 -411 61963 70681 -8719 252112 246076 6036
3.0.3 Other financial assets and liabilities 1114 12518 -11405 3627 1675 1952 1943 5504 -3560 3760 4984 -1224 10445 24681 -14237
4 Net errors and omissions   1075 -1075   419 -419 262   262 158   158 420 1493 -1073

The reasons for current account deficit in 2015-16

We can clearly see that 2015-16 deficit is around -22088 (fig in $millions) it impacts negative sign in the economy.
“Fiscal deficit is 3.9% of GDP or Rs 5.32 lakh crore in 2015-16,” the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) said in a news release, stating the provisional accounts for the last
financial year. This is a significant improvement over that of 4.1% in 2014-15 and 4.7% in 2013-14.

 India’s current account deficit narrowed to its lowest level in seven years in the quarter ended March, mainly due to lower trade gap as both exports and imports fell.
 Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data released that the current account deficit (CAD) — difference between the value of all imports, including goods, services and investment incomes
and the value of all exports — had shrunk to $300 million in the fourth quarter of 2015-16, down from $700 million a year earlier and sharply lower from $7.1 billion recorded in the
previous quarter.
 This is the lowest deficit since a $4.74 billion surplus was reported in March 2009. “The contraction in CAD was primarily on account of a lower trade deficit ($24.8 billion) than in
Q4 of last year ($31.6 billion) and $34 billion in the preceding quarter,” RBI said. Trade deficit narrowed as both exports and imports of goods fell.
 The current account deficit for the full fiscal year narrowed to 1.1% of GDP down from 1.8% of GDP in 2014-15. However, economists said that the fall in the deficit was not an
indicator for what lies ahead. “As the economy picks up and oil prices rise imports will increase, which will mean the deficit will increase. A higher deficit is not bad for India
because we have a stable currency currently,”
 Exports of goods dropped to $266.4 billion last fiscal from $316.5 billion in 2014-15, while imports dropped to $396.4 billion from $461.5 billion during the same period. In the
quarter ended March 2016 net foreign direct investment (FDI) declined to $8.8 billion from $9.3 billion a year earlier.
 Net services receipts declined on a year-on-year basis largely due to fall in exports of transport, financial services and telecommunication, computer and information services,”
 However, on a fiscal year basis net (FDI) inflows rose sharply by 15.3% to $36 billion in 2015-16.Trade deficit narrowed to $130.1 billion in 2015-16 from $144.9 billion in 2014-15,
mainly as imports mostly of oil and other commodities dropped sharply.
 Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO) president Ganesh Kumar Gupta said the continuous growth in gold and electronics imports and the decline in pharma exports
is a cause for concern which needs to be studied and addressed quickly.
On a cumulative basis, CAD narrowed to 0.7% of GDP in 2016-17 from 1.1% in 2015-16 on the back of the
contraction in the trade deficit to $112.4 billion in 2016-17 from $130.1 billion in 2015-16.

Aditi Nayar, principal economist at Icra Ltd, said she expects a widening of CAD to $27-32 billion, or 1.1% of GDP in FY18. “Notably, volatility in commodity prices could
significantly influence the pace of growth of import and export values. Our baseline expectation is that the merchandise trade deficit would widen to around $122-127 billion in
FY18 from $112 billion in 2017. The services trade surplus and remittances are unlikely to improve significantly from the levels in FY17, particularly given the headwinds faced by
the information technology sector,"
Workers remittances by overseas Indians, after picking up in Q2 at $9 billion, declined for the second consecutive quarter to $8.4 billion. Subdued income conditions in the Gulf
region due to the downward spiral in oil prices have kept growth in remittances muted.

In the financial account, net foreign direct investment (FDI) at $5 billion in Q4 of 2016-17 was almost half of $9.7 billion in the Q3 of the same financial year, while portfolio
investments saw a reversal in fortune with a net inflow of $10.8 billion in Q4 against net outflow of $11.3 billion in the previous quarter.

 The Economic Survey further says that while exports slow down may continue for a while before picking up in the next fiscal, continuance of low commodity prices globally augurs well for
sustaining low trade and current account deficit.  As a portion of GDP, the Current Account Deficit (CAD) is likely to be in the low range of One to One Point Five percent.  Moderate growth in the
invisibles surplus, coupled with lower trade deficit, resulted in lower CAD of  US $ 26.8 billion (1.3 per cent of GDP) in  2014-15 and US $ 14.4 billion (1.4 per cent of GDP) in H1 of 2015-16.
 
            India’s Balance of Payments (BoP) position remained comfortable during the first half of 2015-16.  Low levels of CAD coupled with moderate rise in capital inflows resulted in rise in foreign
exchange reserves of 10.6 billion US dollars in first half of 2015-16.  India’s foreign exchange reserves at 351.5 billion US dollars as on 5 th February, 2016 mainly comprised foreign currency assets
equal to 328.4 billion US dollars (93.4% of the total) and Gold at 17.7 billion US dollars.  With increase in reserves in 2015-16 (H1), all traditional reserve-based external sector vulnerability
indicators have improved.  The reserves cover for imports increased from 8.9 months at end-March 2015 to 9.8 months at end-September 2015. 
 
            During 2015-16 (April-January), the average exchange rate of the rupee depreciated to Rs. 65.04 per US dollar as compared to Rs. 60.92 per US dollar in 2014-15 (April- January). 
 
India’s external debt has remained in safe limits as shown by the external debt to GDP ratio of 23.7% and debt service ratio of 7.5% in 2014-15.  The prudent external debt policy of the
Government of India has resulted in external debt remaining within safe and comfortable limits and in containing its rise.