New Delhi: India is considering several measures to rein inthe current account deficit,commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said Thursday, as a slide in the rupee anddecline in exports widened thecountry’s trade gap, exacerbating the challenges facing policymakers due to the Iran war.
“We are monitoring the situation,” said Goyal. “All the various arms of the government areworking as a team. Several stepsare under consideration,” he said, responding to a query on measures the government plans totake to contain the current account deficit (CAD) and rupee depreciation.
The CAD climbed to $13.2 billion, or 1.3% of gross domesticproduct (GDP), in the Decemberquarter from $11.3 billion a yearago, amid a wider trade gap caused by a drop in shipments to theUS, India’s top export market.
Also read: Current account deficit to widen to 2.3 per cent of GDP in FY27 from 0.9 pc in FY26: Report
The rupee has weakened about7% against the US dollar so farin 2026 and is down about 6.1%since the outbreak of the war inlate February. It closed at 96.3 onThursday.
“The situation globally is quite challenging, but we have theconfidence and courage of conviction that we will come outwinners even in this challenging time,” said Goyal on the sidelines of an event organisedby the American Chamber ofCommerce.
Also read: Why CEA Anantha Nageswaran says India is facing a ‘Live Balance of Payments Stress Test’
The move is aimed at curbingoverseas purchases of precious metals and reducingpressure on the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
Gold imports surged 24% toarecord $71.98 billion in FY26although by volume, importsfell 4.8% to 721.03 tonnes. InApril, silver imports surged82% year-on-year to $5.62 billion, driven by high prices.
Prime Minister NarendraModi has appealed to citizensto avoid buying gold and make unnecessary foreign tripsand reduce petrol and dieselconsumption to make theeconomy resilient amid thedisruptions caused by theIran war. “We have made anappeal to all the citizens of India to be more conscious about their spending on products which are import-dependent,” said Goyal.
Also read: "Confident" US-India trade deal will be finalised in "coming weeks": Ambassador Gor
Speaking at the event, Goyal said several big US companies have announced investments in India as the countryremains a favoured investment destination for theworld. “In the last sixmonths, if I look back at thevarious commitments thatwe have seen from Americanindustry, probably the number will be upwards of $60 billion,” he said. “Look at theAmazon data centre commitment, Google data centrecommitments. So, my gut feeling is that America and India truly are working as natural partners. We complementeach other.”
Highlighting that New Delhi needs to work closely withWashington in areas such astechnology, innovation, highprecision defence, digital data centres, quantum computing equipment, and medicaldevices, Goyal said India canprovide scale to American innovation in terms of demandaggregation of 1.4 billionaspirational Indians, a risingmiddle class and incomes,and a growing economy
“We are monitoring the situation,” said Goyal. “All the various arms of the government areworking as a team. Several stepsare under consideration,” he said, responding to a query on measures the government plans totake to contain the current account deficit (CAD) and rupee depreciation.
The CAD climbed to $13.2 billion, or 1.3% of gross domesticproduct (GDP), in the Decemberquarter from $11.3 billion a yearago, amid a wider trade gap caused by a drop in shipments to theUS, India’s top export market.
Also read: Current account deficit to widen to 2.3 per cent of GDP in FY27 from 0.9 pc in FY26: Report
Govt ‘monitoring the situation’ to arrest slide of rupee as war headwinds persist
The rupee has weakened about7% against the US dollar so farin 2026 and is down about 6.1%since the outbreak of the war inlate February. It closed at 96.3 onThursday.
“The situation globally is quite challenging, but we have theconfidence and courage of conviction that we will come outwinners even in this challenging time,” said Goyal on the sidelines of an event organisedby the American Chamber ofCommerce.
Also read: Why CEA Anantha Nageswaran says India is facing a ‘Live Balance of Payments Stress Test’
Pressure on Forex Reserves
The government raised basiccustoms duty on gold and silverimports to 10% from 5%, and theagriculture infrastructure anddevelopment cess to 5% from1%, taking the total effective import duty to 15% with effect fromMay 13. Imports of certain typesof silver have also been restricted while placing limits on goldimports by exporters under theadvance authorisation scheme.The move is aimed at curbingoverseas purchases of precious metals and reducingpressure on the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
Gold imports surged 24% toarecord $71.98 billion in FY26although by volume, importsfell 4.8% to 721.03 tonnes. InApril, silver imports surged82% year-on-year to $5.62 billion, driven by high prices.
Prime Minister NarendraModi has appealed to citizensto avoid buying gold and make unnecessary foreign tripsand reduce petrol and dieselconsumption to make theeconomy resilient amid thedisruptions caused by theIran war. “We have made anappeal to all the citizens of India to be more conscious about their spending on products which are import-dependent,” said Goyal.
Also read: "Confident" US-India trade deal will be finalised in "coming weeks": Ambassador Gor
US-India Trade Deal
The minister said a US teamis likely to visit India nextmonth to continue negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement (BTA).Speaking at the event, Goyal said several big US companies have announced investments in India as the countryremains a favoured investment destination for theworld. “In the last sixmonths, if I look back at thevarious commitments thatwe have seen from Americanindustry, probably the number will be upwards of $60 billion,” he said. “Look at theAmazon data centre commitment, Google data centrecommitments. So, my gut feeling is that America and India truly are working as natural partners. We complementeach other.”
Highlighting that New Delhi needs to work closely withWashington in areas such astechnology, innovation, highprecision defence, digital data centres, quantum computing equipment, and medicaldevices, Goyal said India canprovide scale to American innovation in terms of demandaggregation of 1.4 billionaspirational Indians, a risingmiddle class and incomes,and a growing economy
