"Not at the moment (easing curbs on
import of gold). If our situation gives me more comfort level, obviously
these are flexible polices. They are not engraved in stone that you
can't change them," the Finance Minister said in an interview.
He, however, said the government has to be careful on current account deficit (CAD) and fiscal deficit.
"On both CAD and fiscal deficit, I think we will have to be cautious and careful," he said.
In
order to check rising CAD, the government had raised import duties on
the yellow metal to 10 percent while RBI imposed curbs on import of gold
and also laid down various pre-conditions for inward shipments of the
precious metal.
As a result of combined efforts, imports of gold
have been declining. They fell by 72 percent to USD 2.19 billion in May
due to restrictions imposed by the government.
India's CAD, which
is the excess of foreign exchange outflows over inflows, touched a
historic high of 4.7 percent of GDP in 2012-13, mainly due to rising
imports of gold and petroleum products.
During 2013-14 India's CAD sharply narrowed to 1.7 percent of the GDP or USD 32.4 billion.
For
the January-March quarter, CAD stood at USD 1.2 billion or 0.2 percent
of GDP, as against USD 18.1 billion, or 3.6 percent of GDP in the same
period of the previous fiscal, according to the RBI.
The highest
ever CAD reported in 2013-14 had led to a slew of problems, including a
heavy drop in the value of rupee, which touched an all-time low of 68.85
against the US dollar last August.
However, it has strengthened since then and is hovering around the Rs 60 mark.
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