India's trade deficit narrowed by 46.5 per cent year-on-year in November this year, thanks to a considerable growth in exports and a steep fall in imports.

Fresh figures showed that India's saw an increase of 5.9 per cent in merchandise exports to $24.6 billion in November 2013, while imports slipped 16.4 per cent to $33.8 billion. It was the lowest level of imports since March 2011. In November 2012, the country's imports stood at $40.5 billion.

The country's trade deficit slipped to $9.2 billion in November this year, from $17.2 billion in the corresponding period of last year.

Revealing the trade data, Commerce Secretary S R Rao said that higher cost of rough diamonds discouraged traders from importing the commodity; while inbound shipment of oil slipped 1.1 per cent to nearly $13 billion in the month under review.

The figures are heartening for the government, which aims to contain the current account deficit (CAD) below $60 billion during the current financial year.

Commenting on the figures, Federation of Indian Export Organizations' President M Rafeeque Ahmed said, "The trade deficit will be within a $140-150 billion range in the current financial year, helping keep the CAD at $50-60 billion."

Last year, India's CAD hit a record high of 4.8 per cent (US$88 billion) of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), mainly driven by huge gold imports.