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Concept of Balance of Payments - Current Account

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Estimated time: 15 minutes
CBSE: Class 12
National Testing Agency: Class 12

Meaning of Current Account

The current account records trade in goods and services and transfer payments between a country and the rest of the world.

CBSE: Class 12
National Testing Agency: Class 12

Components of Current Account

Component Description
Goods (Visible Items) Exports and imports of physical goods.
Services (Non-factor Invisibles) Tourism, banking, insurance, transportation, software services, etc.
Factor Income (Factor Invisibles) Wages, profits, interest, rent, etc., earned from or paid abroad.
Unilateral Transfers One-way payments with no return - gifts, remittances, grants, donations, etc.
CBSE: Class 12

IMF BPM6 Classification

The IMF's BPM6 classifies the Balance of Payments (BOP) into:

  • Current Account
  • Capital Account
  • Financial Account

India has adopted the BPM6 classification.

However, the RBI continues to publish Balance of Payments data according to the old classification.

CBSE: Class 12

Balance on Current Account

Situation Condition Implication
Surplus Receipts > Payments Country is a net lender.
Balanced Receipts = Payments No net lending or borrowing.
Deficit Receipts < Payments Country is a net borrower.

The balance has two components:

  • Balance of Trade (BOT)
  • Balance on Invisibles
CBSE: Class 12

Balance of Trade (BOT)

Difference between the value of exports and imports of goods.

  • BOT Surplus: Exports > Imports
  • BOT Deficit: Imports > Exports
CBSE: Class 12

Balance on Invisibles

Covers:

  • Services
  • Factor income
  • Unilateral transfers
CBSE: Class 12
National Testing Agency: Class 12

Accounting Rules — Current Account Entries

Transaction Entry
Export of goods/services Credit (+)
Import of goods/services Debit (−)
Receipt of unilateral transfers Credit (+)
Payment of unilateral transfers Debit (−)
CBSE: Class 12
National Testing Agency: Class 12

Key Points: Current Account

  • The current account records transactions in goods, services, factor income, and unilateral transfers.
  • Goods are the visible component; services, factor income, and transfers are invisible components.
  • IMF's BPM6 classifies BOP into Current, Capital, and Financial Accounts. India has adopted this classification, but the RBI continues to publish data according to the old classification.
  • Current Account Surplus → Country is a net lender; Current Account Deficit → Country is a net borrower.
  • Balance of Trade covers only goods; Balance on Invisibles covers services, factor income, and transfers.
  • Exports and receipts are Credits (+); Imports and payments are Debits (−).
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