Gold imports seen at $38-40 billion in FY14 - Rangarajan

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Gold imports are likely to be around $38-40 billion in the current fiscal year ending on March 31, 2014, the economic adviser to the prime minister, C. Rangarajan, said on Friday.

That would be broadly flat from last fiscal year's $38 billion in imports, which helped push the country's current account deficit to a record 4.8 percent of gross domestic product.

In its report on the economy, the prime minister's economic advisory council headed by C. Rangarajan has projected gold and silver imports at $40 billion in the current fiscal year, of which gold imports alone would account for $38 billion.

The government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have introduced tough measures to curb demand in the world's biggest buyer of bullion, including raising import duty to a record 10 percent and making importers sell 20 percent of all purchases into the export market.

(Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh and Manoj Kumar; editing by Malini Menon)