India’s import bill in first quarter of 2017 has been Rs. 72,658,2.32 crores. In financial year 2016-17 India imported goods worth Rs. 257,742,1.65crores. At this pace India’s import bill set to increase by 14 % YoY. Interestingly, If import bill is increasing more than GDP of nation, make in India (Dream project of Prime Minister Narender Modi) program bound to fail.
Top 50 Commodities imported by India in first quarter of 2017 vs FY 2016-17.
Also Read, Export import with China in First quarter of 2017-18
All figures are in Rs. Lacs
| S.No. | Commodity | 2016-2017 | 2017-2018(Apr-Jun) |
| 1 | MINERAL FUELS, MINERAL OILS AND PRODUCTS OF THEIR DISTILLATION; BITUMINOUS SUBSTANCES; MINERAL WAXES. | 69,127,976.88 | 18,314,753.98 |
| 2 | NATURAL OR CULTURED PEARLS,PRECIOUS OR SEMIPRECIOUS STONES,PRE.METALS,CLAD WITH PRE.METAL AND ARTCLS THEREOF;IMIT.JEWLRY;COIN. | 36,026,228.83 | 14,841,229.79 |
| 3 | ELECTRICAL MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT AND PARTS THEREOF; SOUND RECORDERS AND REPRODUCERS, TELEVISION IMAGE AND SOUND RECORDERS AND REPRODUCERS,AND PARTS. | 25,869,628.81 | 7,636,446.57 |
| 4 | NUCLEAR REACTORS, BOILERS, MACHINERY AND MECHANICAL APPLIANCES; PARTS THEREOF. | 21,531,458.78 | 5,539,626.84 |
| 5 | ORGANIC CHEMICALS | 10,379,791.07 | 2,967,073.16 |
| 6 | PLASTIC AND ARTICLES THEREOF. | 7,757,755.71 | 2,275,578.01 |
| 7 | ANIMAL OR VEGETABLE FATS AND OILS AND THEIR CLEAVAGE PRODUCTS; PRE. EDIBLE FATS; ANIMAL OR VEGETABLE WAXEX. | 7,340,691.66 | 2,027,774.13 |
| 8 | IRON AND STEEL | 5,527,757.41 | 1,490,579.89 |
| 9 | OPTICAL, PHOTOGRAPHIC CINEMATOGRAPHIC MEASURING, CHECKING PRECISION, MEDICAL OR SURGICAL INST. AND APPARATUS PARTS AND ACCESSORIES THEREOF; | 4,962,411.79 | 1,362,726.74 |
| 10 | MISCELLANEOUS CHEMICAL PRODUCTS. | 3,056,692.52 | 923,908.53 |
| 11 | INORGANIC CHEMICALS; ORGANIC OR INORGANIC COMPOUNDS OF PRECIOUS METALS, OF RARE-EARTH METALS, OR RADI. ELEM. OR OF ISOTOPES. | 3,172,445.48 | 906,425.08 |
| 12 | VEHICLES OTHER THAN RAILWAY OR TRAMWAY ROLLING STOCK, AND PARTS AND ACCESSORIES THEREOF. | 3,165,315.08 | 830,981.53 |
| 13 | AIRCRAFT, SPACECRAFT, AND PARTS THEREOF. | 5,644,531.08 | 788,628.96 |
| 14 | ORES, SLAG AND ASH. | 2,869,389.32 | 777,539.04 |
| 15 | FERTILISERS. | 2,875,418.65 | 759,608.71 |
| 16 | COPPER AND ARTICLES THEREOF. | 2,270,885.29 | 716,734.91 |
| 17 | ALUMINIUM AND ARTICLES THEREOF. | 2,332,594.62 | 670,543.89 |
| 18 | EDIBLE VEGETABLES AND CERTAIN ROOTS AND TUBERS. | 2,881,312.01 | 607,652.71 |
| 19 | EDIBLE FRUIT AND NUTS; PEEL OR CITRUS FRUIT OR MELONS. | 2,035,952.74 | 576,263.74 |
| 20 | ARTICLES OF IRON OR STEEL | 2,326,062.46 | 568,837.72 |
| 21 | RUBBER AND ARTICLES THEREOF. | 1,950,048.70 | 557,048.79 |
| 22 | SHIPS, BOATS AND FLOATING STRUCTURES. | 3,805,801.59 | 516,877.68 |
| 23 | PAPER AND PAPERBOARD; ARTICLES OF PAPER PULP, OF PAPER OR OF PAPERBOARD. | 1,816,294.41 | 493,660.13 |
| 24 | SALT; SULPHUR; EARTHS AND STONE; PLASTERING MATERIALS, LIME AND CEMENT. | 1,458,881.40 | 396,885.89 |
| 25 | WOOD AND ARTICLES OF WOOD; WOOD CHARCOAL. | 1,340,332.76 | 374,934.34 |
| 26 | TANNING OR DYEING EXTRACTS; TANNINS AND THEIR DERI. DYES, PIGMENTS AND OTHER COLOURING MATTER; PAINTS AND VER; PUTTY AND OTHER MASTICS; INKS. | 1,118,582.47 | 326,979.72 |
| 27 | PULP OF WOOD OR OF OTHER FIBROUS CELLULOSIC MATERIAL; WASTE AND SCRAP OF PAPER OR PAPERBOARD. | 1,108,761.96 | 325,120.55 |
| 28 | PROJECT GOODS; SOME SPECIAL USES. | 1,401,404.14 | 311,108.70 |
| 29 | FURNITURE; BEDDING, MATTRESSES, MATTRESS SUPPORTS, CUSHIONS AND SIMILAR STUFFED FURNISHING; LAMPS AND LIGHTING FITTINGS NOT ELSEWHERE SPECIFIED OR INC | 984,035.38 | 297,583.15 |
| 30 | PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS | 1,151,503.19 | 270,989.29 |
| 31 | COTTON. | 758,164.50 | 249,981.79 |
| 32 | GLASS AND GLASSWARE. | 673,937.07 | 194,032.27 |
| 33 | TOOLS IMPLEMENTS, CUTLERY, SPOONS AND FORKS, OF BASE METAL; PARTS THEREOF OF BASE METAL. | 554,477.32 | 167,340.01 |
| 34 | SUGARS AND SUGAR CONFECTIONERY. | 741,867.45 | 164,585.06 |
| 35 | IMPREGNATED, COATED, COVERED OR LAMINATED TEXTILE FABRICS; TEXTILE ARTICLES OF A KIND SUITABLE FOR INDUSTRIAL USE. | 454,514.16 | 149,880.18 |
| 36 | COFFEE, TEA, MATE AND SPICES. | 508,214.22 | 141,317.56 |
| 37 | MAN-MADE FILAMENTS. | 485,562.68 | 136,755.84 |
| 38 | MISCELLANEOUS ARTICLES OF BASE METAL. | 488,372.44 | 136,002.47 |
| 39 | ESSENTIAL OILS AND RESINOIDS; PERFUMERY, COSMETIC OR TOILET PREPARATIONS. | 457,677.00 | 129,689.11 |
| 40 | SOAP, ORGANIC SURFACE-ACTIVE AGENTS, WASHING PREPARATIONS, LUBRICATING PREPARATIONS, ARTIFICIAL WAXES, PREPARED WAXES, POLISHING OR SCOURING PREP. | 439,712.22 | 127,658.53 |
| 41 | BEVERAGES, SPIRITS AND VINEGAR. | 452,051.67 | 125,079.47 |
| 42 | ARTICLES OF STONE, PLASTER, CEMENT, ASBESTOS, MICA OR SIMILAR MATERIALS. | 496,502.16 | 121,524.20 |
| 43 | ZINC AND ARTICLES THEREOF. | 470,565.45 | 121,021.86 |
| 44 | LEAD AND ARTICLES THEREOF. | 400,656.01 | 116,197.45 |
| 45 | MAN-MADE STAPLE FIBRES. | 382,649.13 | 113,364.25 |
| 46 | RAW HIDES AND SKINS (OTHER THAN FURSKINS) AND LEATHER | 409,007.90 | 112,141.55 |
| 47 | TOYS, GAMES AND SPORTS REQUISITES; PARTS AND ACCESSORIES THEREOF. | 336,346.62 | 111,897.39 |
| 48 | KNITTED OR CROCHETED FABRICS. | 320,173.75 | 104,259.05 |
| 49 | FOOTWEAR, GAITERS AND THE LIKE; PARTS OF SUCH ARTICLES. | 359,297.91 | 100,128.73 |
| 50 | RESIDUES AND WASTE FROM THE FOOD INDUSTRIES; PREPARED ANIMAL FODER. | 331,660.16 | 99,688.96 |
| India’s Total Import | 257,742,165.86 | 72,658,232.51 |
It should be noted that increase in Import bill is mainly due to Pearls and precious stones. In FY 2016-17 it contributed 13.98 % of total import bill while in first quarter of 2017-18 it is 20.43%. However good thing is that, all precious stones are not utilized in India, but exported post finishing is done.
Top 50 countries India Imported from in first quarter of 2017-18
All The figures are in Rs. lacs
| SNo. | Country | 2016-2017 | % Share | 2017-2018 (Apr-Jun) | % Share |
| 1 | CHINA P RP | 41,112,449.7 | 15.95 | 11,656,210.7 | 16.04 |
| 2 | SWITZERLAND | 11,561,928.8 | 4.49 | 4,101,928.4 | 5.65 |
| 3 | U ARAB EMTS | 14,415,876.3 | 5.59 | 4,049,806.0 | 5.57 |
| 4 | U S A | 14,989,794.2 | 5.82 | 3,839,368.6 | 5.28 |
| 5 | SAUDI ARAB | 13,376,327.3 | 5.19 | 3,126,956.3 | 4.30 |
| 6 | INDONESIA | 9,014,424.6 | 3.50 | 2,641,064.1 | 3.63 |
| 7 | KOREA RP | 8,445,261.4 | 3.28 | 2,509,878.4 | 3.45 |
| 8 | HONG KONG | 5,491,258.4 | 2.13 | 2,436,597.4 | 3.35 |
| 9 | IRAQ | 7,847,561.1 | 3.04 | 2,386,202.2 | 3.28 |
| 10 | AUSTRALIA | 7,486,443.5 | 2.90 | 2,021,797.4 | 2.78 |
| 11 | GERMANY | 7,770,424.1 | 3.01 | 1,995,082.0 | 2.75 |
| 12 | JAPAN | 6,542,497.2 | 2.54 | 1,664,333.4 | 2.29 |
| 13 | IRAN | 7,047,761.3 | 2.73 | 1,607,692.0 | 2.21 |
| 14 | NIGERIA | 5,137,453.4 | 1.99 | 1,599,038.3 | 2.20 |
| 15 | RUSSIA | 3,718,033.7 | 1.44 | 1,498,642.6 | 2.06 |
| 16 | UNSPECIFIED | 4,914,888.7 | 1.91 | 1,483,278.1 | 2.04 |
| 17 | MALAYSIA | 5,989,034.5 | 2.32 | 1,416,708.8 | 1.95 |
| 18 | QATAR | 5,122,226.0 | 1.99 | 1,239,086.7 | 1.71 |
| 19 | BELGIUM | 4,439,563.9 | 1.72 | 1,213,313.5 | 1.67 |
| 20 | SINGAPORE | 4,754,088.6 | 1.84 | 1,196,211.7 | 1.65 |
| 21 | SOUTH AFRICA | 3,897,915.0 | 1.51 | 1,079,948.5 | 1.49 |
| 22 | THAILAND | 3,631,308.0 | 1.41 | 1,010,950.6 | 1.39 |
| 23 | FRANCE | 3,826,383.8 | 1.48 | 964,356.4 | 1.33 |
| 24 | KUWAIT | 2,986,318.3 | 1.16 | 942,431.3 | 1.30 |
| 25 | VENEZUELA | 3,696,429.1 | 1.43 | 939,375.4 | 1.29 |
| 26 | CANADA | 2,772,611.3 | 1.08 | 813,632.6 | 1.12 |
| 27 | BRAZIL | 2,765,261.7 | 1.07 | 757,864.5 | 1.04 |
| 28 | U K | 2,458,352.7 | 0.95 | 720,109.4 | 0.99 |
| 29 | ITALY | 2,613,963.5 | 1.01 | 659,555.0 | 0.91 |
| 30 | VIETNAM SOC REP | 2,226,346.5 | 0.86 | 644,257.1 | 0.89 |
| 31 | TAIWAN | 2,107,629.9 | 0.82 | 598,317.6 | 0.82 |
| 32 | ARGENTINA | 1,676,299.5 | 0.65 | 492,595.2 | 0.68 |
| 33 | GHANA | 1,301,536.2 | 0.51 | 491,136.7 | 0.68 |
| 34 | MEXICO | 1,977,591.3 | 0.77 | 476,835.4 | 0.66 |
| 35 | ANGOLA | 1,740,617.2 | 0.68 | 449,084.4 | 0.62 |
| 36 | PERU | 722,711.9 | 0.28 | 400,188.4 | 0.55 |
| 37 | ISRAEL | 1,314,732.6 | 0.51 | 391,822.4 | 0.54 |
| 38 | UKRAINE | 1,665,692.4 | 0.65 | 349,827.7 | 0.48 |
| 39 | BOTSWANA | 876,627.3 | 0.34 | 323,760.0 | 0.45 |
| 40 | NETHERLAND | 1,272,947.7 | 0.49 | 293,415.5 | 0.40 |
| 41 | SPAIN | 1,322,312.9 | 0.51 | 264,110.9 | 0.36 |
| 42 | SWEDEN | 778,815.9 | 0.30 | 244,855.8 | 0.34 |
| 43 | OMAN | 855,414.4 | 0.33 | 244,433.4 | 0.34 |
| 44 | CHILE | 822,921.0 | 0.32 | 241,583.1 | 0.33 |
| 45 | MYANMAR | 715,611.8 | 0.28 | 195,019.0 | 0.27 |
| 46 | ALGERIA | 405,542.1 | 0.16 | 191,714.8 | 0.26 |
| 47 | TURKEY | 809,661.4 | 0.31 | 191,313.9 | 0.26 |
| 48 | MOZAMBIQUE | 366,235.6 | 0.14 | 182,242.7 | 0.25 |
| 49 | FINLAND | 679,193.1 | 0.26 | 165,274.1 | 0.23 |
| 50 | TANZANIA REP | 636,994.9 | 0.25 | 163,535.3 | 0.23 |
| India’s Total Import | 257,742,165.9 | 72,658,232.5 |
It can bee seen that proportionally import from China, Switzerland, Indonesia, South Korea and Hong kong increased. while it decreased from countries UAE, USA, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Germany and Japan. China is on top position, and India fulfilled 16% of its import need from this country.
Region-wise India’s import analysis
All the figures are in Rs. lacs
| S.No. | Region | 2016-2017 | Share | 2017-2018(Apr-Jun) | Share |
| 1 | NE Asia | 63,762,752.7 | 24.7 | 18,871,519.2 | 26.0 |
| 2 | West Asia- GCC | 36,951,247.4 | 14.3 | 9,666,067.9 | 13.3 |
| 3 | ASEAN | 27,246,733.3 | 10.6 | 7,397,340.9 | 10.2 |
| 4 | EU Countries | 28,413,617.7 | 11.0 | 7,284,069.6 | 10.0 |
| 5 | North America | 19,739,996.7 | 7.7 | 5,129,836.6 | 7.1 |
| 6 | Other West Asia | 16,810,791.6 | 6.5 | 4,555,100.9 | 6.3 |
| 7 | European Free Trade Associatipn (EFTA) | 11,947,307.2 | 4.6 | 4,257,394.3 | 5.9 |
| 8 | Latin America | 11,599,794.9 | 4.5 | 3,227,636.4 | 4.4 |
| 9 | West Africa | 8,736,788.6 | 3.4 | 2,793,532.9 | 3.8 |
| 10 | East Asia (Oceania) | 7,938,733.1 | 3.1 | 2,158,209.8 | 3.0 |
| 11 | Other CIS Countries | 5,838,217.3 | 2.3 | 1,919,588.4 | 2.6 |
| 12 | Unspecified | 5,018,216.8 | 1.9 | 1,522,169.3 | 2.1 |
| 13 | Southern African Customs Union (SACU) | 4,851,379.0 | 1.9 | 1,433,373.8 | 2.0 |
| 14 | Other South African Countries | 2,646,570.2 | 1.0 | 791,274.1 | 1.1 |
| 15 | North Africa | 1,964,754.2 | 0.8 | 562,018.6 | 0.8 |
| 16 | South Asia | 1,884,492.0 | 0.7 | 417,667.7 | 0.6 |
| 17 | East Africa | 885,343.9 | 0.3 | 227,919.0 | 0.3 |
| 18 | Other European Countries | 849,425.2 | 0.3 | 209,371.8 | 0.3 |
| 19 | CARs Countries | 408,505.7 | 0.2 | 183,075.8 | 0.3 |
| 20 | Central Africa | 247,498.4 | 0.1 | 51,065.9 | 0.1 |
| India’s Total Import | 257,742,165.9 | 72,658,232.5 |
India full fill 50% of its import need from NE Asia (26%), West East Asia (13.3%) and ASEAN (10.2%). India is working on new foreign policy ‘Act East’.
