Gold imports down sharply to Rs 5,619 crore in Novemeber

NEW DELHI: Gold imports have declined significantly to Rs 5,619 crore in November from a high of Rs 25,272 crore indicating that the government's policy to curb inward shipment is yielding results.

The information was given under RTI by the Finance Ministry to activist Subhash Chander Agarwal.

However, the ministry said that the data provided "contains EDI ( Electronic Data Interchange) information only and no manual data is included in it".

The government has raised the import duty on gold from 2 per cent in January 2012 to 10 per cent in August this year, besides imposing other restrictions on import of the yellow metal.

The move was aimed at narrowing the current account deficit. The current account deficit (CAD) touched a historic high of 4.8 per cent of GDP in 2012-13 and was mainly attributed to high imports of gold and petroleum products.

A high level of CAD puts pressure on the rupee, which has depreciated by about 15 per cent since April 30.

India is the largest importer of gold, which is mainly utilised to meet the demand of the jewellery industry. Imports stood at about 830 tonnes in 2012-13.