India's imports rise nearly 6% in Q1, Centre keeping a tab on foreign trade; exports fall 4%

Imports into India rose 5.9 per cent on a year-on-year basis to an unprecedented level in the quarter ended June 30, showed official data released on Tuesday. At the same time, exports from the country declined 4.4 per cent. Rising imports and falling exports tend to widen a country's trade deficit--or the shortfall between exports and imports. 

The country's quarterly imports have been rising consistently since 2016. 

The central government is monitoring the overall trade situation closely across commodities and categories, especially the rising imports.