India should use cheap oil to boost balance sheet: RBI deputy

A fall in global oil prices provides India with the opportunity to strengthen its balance sheet, a deputy governor of the RBI said on Monday, alluding to the need to use savings to invest, build reserves and cut subsidies.

India imports nearly two-thirds of its oil requirements and a lower oil import bill is likely to help slash the country's current account deficit, as well as help ease inflation.

The government's annual budget, due to be presented on Saturday, is widely expected to include cuts to subsidies, but not by as much as some investors had hoped for.

"The oil price going down is an opportunity which should not be wasted and we should be bolstering our balance sheets," Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, H.R. Khan, said in a speech to management students.