{
  "purpose": "India's services trade (RBI Balance of Payments 'Non-factor Services' invisibles category), converted to US$ using fiscal-year-average exchange rates, combined with the merchandise trade balance to give the fuller goods+services picture.",
  "services_source": "MoSPI MCP connector, RBI dataset, indicator 'Invisibles by Category of Transactions', category='Non-factor Services' (sub_indicator_code=14)",
  "dpiit_note": "DPIIT does not publish a services-trade dataset -- its main public data product is a goods import-monitoring system (imports.gov.in/imsdpiit) plus FDI statistics, not a trade-balance series.",
  "commerce_ministry_note": "DGCI&S (Ministry of Commerce) does track services exports directly via annual 'Service Exports Reporting Form' (SERF) reports (dgciskol.gov.in/Services_Trade.aspx), but these are PDF/Excel releases without a queryable database like TRADESTAT, so RBI's BoP series was used instead for a clean structured time series.",
  "fy_avg_usd_inr_rates": {
    "2015-16": 65.47, "2016-17": 67.07, "2017-18": 64.45, "2018-19": 69.92, "2019-20": 70.9,
    "2020-21": 74.23, "2021-22": 74.5, "2022-23": 80.36, "2023-24": 82.79, "2024-25": 84.68
  },
  "fy_avg_rate_method": "12-month average (Apr-Mar) of this repo's own monthly INR/USD connector series -- an approximation, not RBI's official FY-average rate.",
  "services_inr_crore": {
    "2015-16": {"net": 455828.34, "receipts": 1010445.77, "payments": 554617.42},
    "2016-17": {"net": 458449.77, "receipts": 1101366.20, "payments": 642916.43},
    "2017-18": {"net": 499968.23, "receipts": 1257471.70, "payments": 757503.46},
    "2018-19": {"net": 573783.19, "receipts": 1456277.23, "payments": 882494.05},
    "2019-20": {"net": 602381.21, "receipts": 1511659.26, "payments": 909278.05},
    "2020-21": {"net": 656900.40, "receipts": 1528235.98, "payments": 871335.58},
    "2021-22": {"net": 801310.56, "receipts": 1897558.17, "payments": 1096247.61},
    "2022-23": {"net": 1154209.00, "receipts": 2617435.21, "payments": 1463226.20},
    "2023-24": {"net": 1348009.65, "receipts": 2824167.03, "payments": 1476157.39},
    "2024-25": {"net": 1599286.08, "receipts": 3279875.80, "payments": 1680589.72}
  },
  "combined_usd_billion": {
    "2018-19": {"goods_balance": -184.0, "services_net": 82.1, "overall": -101.9},
    "2019-20": {"goods_balance": -161.3, "services_net": 85.0, "overall": -76.4},
    "2020-21": {"goods_balance": -102.6, "services_net": 88.5, "overall": -14.1},
    "2021-22": {"goods_balance": -191.0, "services_net": 107.6, "overall": -83.5},
    "2022-23": {"goods_balance": -264.9, "services_net": 143.6, "overall": -121.3},
    "2023-24": {"goods_balance": -241.1, "services_net": 162.8, "overall": -78.3},
    "2024-25": {"goods_balance": -283.5, "services_net": 188.9, "overall": -94.6}
  },
  "headline": {
    "services_surplus_more_than_doubled": "from $82.1bn (FY2018-19) to $188.9bn (FY2024-25)",
    "still_a_deficit_every_year": true,
    "smallest_overall_gap": {"fy": "2020-21", "value_bn": -14.1, "note": "COVID year -- imports crashed further than exports, services held up"},
    "latest_overall_gap": {"fy": "2024-25", "value_bn": -94.6}
  }
}