Gold imports, which have a bearing on the country's current account deficit (CAD), fell 3.3 per cent to USD 26.11 billion during April-February 2020-21, according to the commerce ministry data.
Imports of the yellow metal stood at USD 27 billion in April-February 2019-20.
The decline in gold imports has helped in narrowing the country's trade deficit to USD 84.62 billion during the 11-month of the current fiscal, as against USD 151.37 billion a year ago.
India is the largest importer of gold, which mainly caters to the demand of the jewellery industry.
In volume terms, the country imports 800-900 tonnes of gold annually.
To promote the export sector, the government has reduced the import duty in this Budget on the metal to 7.5 per cent. However, it also attracts agriculture infrastructure and development cess at the rate of 2.5 per cent.
Gems and jewellery exports declined 33.86 per cent to USD 22.40 billion in April-February 2020-21.
The imports of gold jumped to USD 5.3 billion in February as compared to USD 2.36 billion in the same month last year, the data showed.
Silver imports during the 11 months have dipped by 70.3 per cent to USD 780.75 million.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU