Growth Rate Of Invisible Receipt, Payments Tapers

The growth rate of both invisible receipts and payments declined during 2001-02 against 2000-01, as per the latest Reserve Bank of India ( RBI) Bulletin (May 2003).

Invisible receipts comprises software exports, remittances from abroad, and tourism earnings, while invisible payments are used to service external debt and current account deficit.

While there has been 3.4 per cent deceleration in the growth rate of invisible receipts, invisible payments have gone down by 4.8 per cent in 2001-02.

In dollar terms, invisible receipts went up by $35.6 billion in 2001-02 against $34.4 billion in 2000-01 and $ 30.3 billion in 1999-00.

Similarly, in rupee terms, receipts figured at Rs 1,69,841 crore for 2001-02 compared with Rs 1,57,748 crore in 2000-01 and Rs 1,31,449 crore in 1999-00.

Invisible payments, on the other hand, declined to $21.5 billion against $22.6 billion in 2000-01 and figured at Rs 1,02,695 crore against Rs 1,03,803 crore last year, in rupee terms.

Continuing the past trend, private transfers and miscellaneous services were major contributors to the invisible receipts, while miscellaneous service payments, investment income payments., transportation service and travel service payments dominated the payment side, says the report.

Growth in receipts has been affected partly by travel receipts, which economists feel, is a repercussion of the September 11 incident in US and uncertain geo-political scenario in India.

The share of services in gross invisible receipts increased to 57 per cent in 2001-02 from 54.8 per cent in 2000-01 and 51.8 per cent in 1999-2000, in which receipts from software services was a major contributor.

Nevertheless, the decline in growth of receipts can also be attributed to software services, the growth of which has fallen to 13.2 per cent in 2001-02 against a significant growth of 58 per cent in 2000-01.

Transfers, as an component of total receipts, has fallen in absolute terms from Rs 60,312 crore to Rs 59,987 crore last year. The share of private transfers, which forms traditionally a major source of invisible receipts, has declined from 40.5 per cent in 1999-00 to 34.2 per cent in 2001-02.

Meanwhile, investment income payments, which represent servicing of both debt and non debt transaction abroad, has gone down in tandem with India