The emerging stress in imports: Surprisingly, it's coal more than oil

More than oil, as the demand for coal shoots up even further in the economy, it has become the new pressure point in the import basket of India

It begins with oil, spreads to gold and then sweeps in coal and electronics items. This is how the tension in the Indian imports plays out whenever there is a surge.

There are other commodities whose imports spike, too, but their volumes soon fade away in the pecking order behind the top grossers. These top ones are crude and petroleum products, gold, coal and electronic items. They are like an In-Famous Five, which account for half the share of India’s total imports in any financial year. So any spike by one of them has usually brought grief to India’s trade deficit,