| He said the finance minister and the Reserve Bank of India should revisit the subject as the country has grown internally and externally over the last two decades. |
| "I request the finance minister and the Reserve Bank of India to come out with a roadmap based on current realities," Singh said at a function here to release the third volume of the History of Reserve Bank of India between 1967-1981. |
| The cautious approach towards opening of the capital account was warranted, "given the fact that capital flows are known to exhibit a highly cyclical pattern," Singh said. |
| "It is necessary to attract relatively stable component of capital flows, while de-emphasising the volatile components," he added. Singh said there was a need to build foreign exchange reserves higher than the import cover criterion. |
| Based on the trade data for February, India's reserves of $144 billion as on March 10 cover 13 months of imports. |
| "India's policy of building adequate foreign exchange reserves has contributed to maintaining financial stability and added to the economy's resilience," he said. |
| Singh also said the country's current account gap""after three years of surpluses""was not a cause for concern. The current account deficit was still in a comfort zone and can be easily financed through normal capital inflows, he said. |
| The current account gap during April-September 2005 was $13 billion, much higher than the $0.5 billion a year ago, according to the latest RBI data. |
| The prime minister said, inflation and inflation expectations have been contained owing to Reserve Bank of India's prudent policy measures. |
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