Non-essential imports to be identified by end of week

Gold, finished steel, electronics and food items may figure in the list of non-essential imports, to be finalised within this week. SUBHAYAN CHAKRABORTY writes

Gold, finished steel, electronics and food items, such as fruits and almonds, among others, may figure in a comprehensive list of ' non-essential' imports, to be finalised by the end of the week. The items had been suggested in a meeting called by the Department of Economic Affairs on Monday to rein in the widening current account deficit (CAD), which was attended by senior officials from all economic ministries, according to senior sources.

Almost 10 months after the mid-term trade policy was updated to prioritise the reduction of India’s ballooning trade deficit and improve exports, the government has swung into action as the rupee has remained in a free fall and high global crude prices have pushed petrol and diesel to be retailed at near record levels across the country.

A high-level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday had also announced a five-pronged measure to increase dollar

inflows into the country to the tune of an estimated $10 billion while reducing the CAD. The CAD had risen to 2.4 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter of 2018-19 from 1.9 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2017-18.

On the other hand, trade deficit reached a whopping $465.58 billion in 2017-18, up by more than 21 per cent. Of this, gold imports formed the second biggest chunk of the import bill just after crude oil and may see a hike in import duty, according to sources.