In the March quarter, India recorded a current account surplus of USD 5.7 billion or 0.6 per cent of GDP, the Reserve Bank said on Monday.

Notably, in the year-ago period, the current account deficit stood at USD1.3 billion or 0.2 per cent of GDP, and the same was USD 8.7 billion or 1 per cent of GDP in the preceding quarter ending December 2023.

According to the data released by the RBI, for FY24, the current account deficit narrowed to USD 23.2 billion or 0.7 per cent of GDP against USD 67 billion or 2 per cent of GDP in FY23.

It said that the merchandise trade deficit was USD 50.9 billion in Q4:2023-24 which was lower than USD 52.6 billion a year ago.

Services exports grew by 4.1 per cent on a y-o-y basis in Q4:2023-24 on the back of rising exports of software, travel and business services.

Net services receipt at USD 42.7 billion was higher than its level a year ago (USD 39.1 billion), which contributed to the surplus in the current account balance during Q4:2023-24.

The data further said that the net foreign direct investment flows were USD 2.0 billion in Q4:2023-24 as compared with USD 6.4 billion a year ago.

The foreign portfolio investment recorded a net inflow of USD 11.4 billion in Q4:2023-24 as against a net outflow of USD 1.7 billion during Q4:2022-23.

However the net inflows under external commercial borrowings to India amounted to USD 2.6 billion in Q4:2023-24 as compared with USD 1.7 billion a year ago. Non-resident deposits recorded a higher net inflow of USD 5.4 billion than USD 3.6 billion in Q4:2022-23.

The RBI data further said that the net outgo on the primary income account, primarily reflecting payments of investment income, increased to USD 14.8 billion from USD 12.6 billion a year ago.

Private transfer receipts, mainly representing remittances by Indians employed overseas, amounted to USD 32.0 billion, an increase of 11.9 per cent over their level a year ago.

For the Financial Year 2023-24, the data said India’s current account deficit moderated to USD 23.2 billion, 0.7 per cent of GDP, during 2023-24 from USD 67.0 billion, 2 per cent of GDP, during the previous year on the back of a lower merchandise trade deficit.

Net invisibles receipt was higher during 2023-24 than a year ago, primarily on account of services and transfers.

During 2023-24, portfolio investment recorded a net inflow of USD 44.1 billion as against an outflow of USD 5.2 billion a year ago.

Net FDI inflow was USD 9.8 billion during 2023-24 as compared with USD 28.0 billion in 2022-23. In 2023-24, there was an accretion of USD 63.7 billion to the foreign exchange reserves (on a BoP basis).