New Delhi, Dec 27 (KNN) India's balance of payments (BOP) during the second quarter (July-September) of 2023-24 has shown a current account deficit of USD 8.3 billion, equivalent to 1.0 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), as per data released by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday.

The current account deficit marks a decrease from USD 9.2 billion (1.1 per cent of GDP) in the first quarter of 2023-24 and a substantial decline from USD 30.9 billion (3.8 per cent of GDP) in the same quarter a year ago.

The lower current account deficit is attributed to the narrowing of the merchandise trade deficit, which decreased to USD 61 billion from USD 78.3 billion in the second quarter of 2022-23.

Services exports grew by 4.2 per cent year-on-year, driven by rising exports of software, business, and travel services.

Net services receipts increased both sequentially and on a year-on-year basis. However, the net outgo on the primary income account, reflecting payments of investment income, increased to USD 12.2 billion from USD 11.8 billion a year ago.

Furthermore, there was a significant positive shift in foreign exchange reserves, with an accretion of USD 2.5 billion in the second quarter of 2023-24, in contrast to a depletion of USD 30.4 billion in the same quarter of the previous fiscal year.

(KNN Bureau)