New Delhi, Nov 1 (IANS) Finance Minister P. Chidambaram Friday said India’s current account deficit (CAD) would come down and be around $60 billion owing to rising exports and import controls initiated by the government.
“The current account deficit is well under control. In recent weeks, we see signs that steps and measures we have taken are beginning to yield results,” said Chidambaram during a conference here.
“But there are still some challenges,” he added referring to the high inflation levels and reviving the investment sentiment in a sluggish economy.
CAD which is the difference between dollar inflow and outflow has been a matter of concern for the government. The CAD stood at a record high of 4.8 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) at $88.2 billion in the last fiscal.
The government is trying to rein in CAD by imposing higher duties on gold and cutting down on import of non-essential items.
The finance minister has set a target of below $70 billion or 3.8 percent of the GDP for CAD this fiscal.