Balance of payments to be ‘very, very strong’ this year: Piyush Goyal – Times of India

NEW DELHI: India’s balance of payments this year is going to be “very very strong” on the back of significant improvement in exports and a fall in imports, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said on Monday.
He said that “good” green shoots are visible in the economy and exports have shown a “good” turnaround.
“We are in July at about 91 per cent export level of July 2019 figures. Imports are still at about 70-71 per cent level of July 2019. So, broadly our balance of payments this year is going to be very very strong, which is why we feel confident that Indian industry will see opportunities for themselves, will see opportunities of growth,” he said at a Ficci webinar.
India’s exports fell for the fourth straight month in June as shipments of key segments like petroleum and textiles declined but the country’s trade turned surplus for the first time in 18 years as imports dropped by a steeper 47.59 per cent.
The country posted a trade surplus of $0.79 billion in June.