India spent USD 160bn for crude import in FY12: Report

"For the past five years, crude oil imports have been equivalent to about 40% of the country's total exports. In 2011-12, the figure was at an astonishing high of over 53%," Assocham President Rajkumar Dhoot said. India's exports crossed USD 300 billion in 2011-12, while imports stood at USD 485 billion.

The maximum imports were of crude oil about USD 160 billion, while gold and silver contributed to USD 60 billion in the last fiscal.

"This is a worrying aspect, since it implies that a major share of the country's foreign exchange earnings are spent on import of a single commodity," Dhoot said.

The study said India's total import bill increased mainly due to high crude oil prices and huge demand for gold and silver during the last fiscal. However, the chamber said that with crude prices falling in the international market, the equation is expected to change in the current financial year.
    
"Every fall in the crude oil prices is a good news for the Indian economy and for the government's fiscal situation," Dhoot said.
    
Further, the study said, widening trade deficit and rising current account deficit (CAD) are among the main challenges faced by the economy. Consequently, the trade deficit is estimated to have widened to USD 185 billion in 2011-12 from USD 104.4 billion in the previous fiscal. The CAD stood at about 4 per cent of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the last fiscal.