Online Learning Portal
DAILY NEWS ANALYSIS
10 March, 2021
5 Min Read
COVID-19 pandemic led to a sharp decline in global trade, lower commodity prices and tighter external financing conditions with implications for current account balances and currencies of different countries.
• India’s forex reserves at an all-time high of US$ 586.1 billion as on January 2021, covering about 18 months’ worth of imports.
• India experiencing a Current Account Surplus along with robust capital inflows leading to a BoP surplus since Q4 of FY2019-20
• Balance on the capital account is buttressed by robust FDI and FPI inflows:
• In H1: FY21, steep contraction in merchandise imports and lower outgo for travel services led to:
• India to end with an Annual Current Account Surplus after a period of 17 years
• India’s Merchandise trade deficit was lower at US$ 57.5 billion in April-December, 2020 as compared to US$ 125.9 billion in the corresponding period last year
• In April-December, 2020, merchandise exports contracted by 15.7% to US$ 200.8 billion from US$ 238.3 billion in April-December, 2019:
• Total merchandise imports declined by (-) 29.1% to US$ 258.3 billion during April-December, 2020 from US$ 364.2 billion during the same period last year:
Both imports and exports contracted but imports contracted more.
• Trade balance with China and the US improved as imports slowed.
India-China Trade:
Indo-US Trade:
• Net services receipts amounting to US$ 41.7 billion remained stable in April-September 2020 as compared with US$ 40.5 billion in corresponding period a year ago.
• Resilience of the services sector was primarily driven by software services, which accounted for 49% of total services exports
• Net private transfer receipts, mainly representing remittances by Indians employed overseas, totaling US$ 35.8 billion in H1: FY21 declined by 6.7% over the corresponding period of previous year
• At end-September 2020, India’s external debt placed at US$ 556.2 billion - a decrease of US$ 2.0 billion (0.4%) as compared to end-March 2020.
• Improvement in debt vulnerability indicators:
• Rupee appreciation/depreciation:
• RBI’s interventions in forex markets ensured- financial stability and orderly conditions, controlling the volatility and one-sided appreciation of the Rupee.
• Initiatives undertaken to promote exports:
Service sector
Leading Destinations for India's Exports
Share of Leading commodities Exported by India
Distribution of India's imports by Country or Region of Origin
Source: ES
Recently, Prime Minister announced Pradhan Mantri Suryodaya Yojana under which 1 crore households will get rooftop solar power systems. India’s Status of Current Solar Capacity India currently stands at 4th place globally in solar power capacity. As per Ministry of New an
The Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, 2010 (FCRA) registration of two prominent non-governmental organisations (NGOs) — Centre for Policy Research (CPR) and World Vision India (WVI) have been cancelled this month. What is FCRA? Key provisions of FCRA, 2010 Key aspects Description
Voice clone fraud has been on the rise in India. AI voice cloning – It is the process of creating a synthetic replica of a person’s voice through machine learning and speech synthesis technology.It is called as voice deepfakesor audio deepfakes. Objective – To achieve a high level of na
Steps taken by India to promote Science Communication Publications and Information Directorate (PID) - An organisation under Council of Science and Industrial Research (CSIR) established in 1951 for publishing and disseminating scientific information in India. National science magazines- The PI
Universal Basic Income (UBI) can strengthen welfare architecture and unlock the nation’s latent demographic potential. UBI - It is an income support mechanism typically intended to reach all or a very large portion of the population regardless of their earnings or employment status. Objective- To provide enough to co
Our Popular Courses
Module wise Prelims Batches
Mains Batches
Test Series