New Delhi, Aug 22 (KNN) Concerning rising trade deficit, Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar said that the government and the private sectors should work to make exports the centre point of economic activity to take advantage of external demand conditions.

India's trade deficit widened to USD 18.02 billion in July 2018 from USD 11.45 billion in the same month a year earlier. It was the largest trade gap since May 2013, as imports jumped 28.81 percent to USD 43.79 billion

“The low share of our goods and services exports is a matter of concern. We need to improve our skill set and human capital as well as take cognizance of external demand conditions,” Kumar said at a meeting of the CII Economic Affairs Council. 

On falling rupee, he said that it is not a matter of worry as the currency is getting back to its natural value.

“There is nothing much that the government should do to stem the fall of the rupee, as the move would adversely impact growth. Hence, the prevailing environment should be leveraged to push exports and foreign capital inflows,” he added.

Further, he said that India needs to revisit safeguard and antidumping duties to boost export growth and set targets to improve the share of exports. 

The rupee had slumped to a lifetime low of 70.32 on August 16 on strong demand for the US dollar. 

Kumar said large economies like the US, China and the European Union do not give much importance to fiscal deficit. “We must shift debate out of fiscal deficit. 

According to Kumar, there has been a high-level discussion within the government on the fiscal side.

The CII is developing an index to look at the quality of fiscal deficit. It has identified six parameters that will define the quality of fiscal deficit in the country.