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Unit 8: Foreign Trade of India

8.5 Composition of India’s Imports Notes

In this section, you will learn about the composition of India’s imports. In 1947-48, the leading
items of India’s imports were machines, oil, grains, cotton, cutlery, hardware implements,
chemicals, etc. They established 70% of India’s imports. Thereafter due to the importance on
industrialization in the second 5-Year plan required the imports of capital goods.
Now, imports of India’s are broadly classified into following four categories:
Figure 8.2: India’s Import Compositions

Table below shows composition of India’s import from 1990-91 to 2005-06.

Table 8.2: Composition of India’s Imports (Percent)

Year 1990-91 2005-06
Pertroleum Products 24.9 30.9
Capital Goods 24.1 22.3
Pearls & Precious Stones 8.7 6.4
Iron & Steel 5.0 3.1
Fertilizers 4.1 1.5
Edible Oils 0.8 1.4
Other 32.4 34.4
100 100
Source: Statistical Outline of India 2006-07
The composition of India’s imports can be summarised as follows:

1. Petroleum Products: Imports of petroleum oil and lubricants rose considerably from
$ 5364 million in 1991-92 to $ 43,963 million i.e. more than eight times.
Because of high price of crude oil, the POL imports flew to $ 15,650 million in 2000-01. In
1990-91, petroleum products accounted for nearly 25% of total imports of India. In 2005-06,
it has additionally amplified to nearly 31% of the total introduction of bill of India.
2. Capital Goods: The imports of capital goods were $ 3,610 million in 1991-92. In 1995-96
due to sharp increase in non-electrical equipment imports, the imports of capital goods
jumped up to $ 8,458 million. Though due to decelerating domestic request imports of
capital goods fell successive. The capital goods and connected items were 24.1% of the
entire imports of India in 1990-91, which has derived slightly in 2005-06 to about 22.3%.

3. Pearls and Precious Stones: To meet the necessities of the gems and jewellery manufacturing
pearls and precious stones are imported in large amounts. In 1990-91, the share of pearls
and precious stones was 8.7% which has condensed in percentage terms to 6.4% in 2005-06.

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