The all-time high price of silver is Rs 75,000 a kg, recorded in April 2011.
Other measures being considered include relatively stringent KYC norms and a separate standard operating procedure for approval, renewal, and fresh investment from India's neighbouring countries.
'Banks have to be braver, willing to take more risks and give confidence to the customer,' observes Joydeep Ghosh.
The mid-cap universe - comprising firms that rank 101-250 in terms of m-cap - could see as many as 17 new stocks move out. Similarly, over half a dozen stocks could exit the large-cap universe, which is defined as the top 100 entities in terms of m-cap.
Market experts said disruptions caused by the pandemic - to businesses as well as the filing process - and the sharp decline in valuations were the reasons behind fewer new companies wanting to tap the capital markets.
Many believe that the surge in the markets defy economic reality and is being fuelled by aggressive monetary easing by central banks across the world.
This is the fastest the markets have taken to get out of bottom, compared to previous crises.
The government has sold SGBs worth Rs 1,990 crore in April and May alone.
Silver has been quoting at a premium in India since mid-March because of huge scarcity.
It plans to use it as collateral, along with forex reserves, to print currency.
Gold and silver became costlier in the country following the international price rise over the expectations of negative interest rates in the US, the rising trade tensions between the US and China and the weakening of the rupee.
The rights issue price has been set at Rs 1,257 a share, a discount of nearly 14 per cent to the last closing price of Rs 1,459. The company had set May 14 as the record date for the rights issue, which meant shareholders as on that day would be eligible to apply. Shareholders will be able to apply for one share for every 15 shares held.
Industry estimates over 30 tonnes of gold were sold on Akshaya Tritiya this time.
There have been several instances of traders dumping fruits and vegetables outside mandis. Or of farmers dumping produce outside their villages or feeding them to their animals.
The month of March could be worst in many years, with imports estimated only around 18 tonnes amid the coronavirus pandemic and the nationwide lockdown, said an industry player. The import in March 2019 was 72.5 tonnes, according to the GFMS data.
Nilesh Veera, director of APMC said, complained that availability of workers is a big problem. They have asked the government to provide enough sanitizers, masks, etc, for worker safety, to call them back. There has been no reply.
The objective is to ensure the exchange's preparedness in the event of a natural calamity, so that any disruptions should not affect market integrity and investor confidence.
The bulk of the erosion in terms of value took place in India's most-valued firms. For instance, Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries alone has lost Rs 3.8 trillion in m-cap, followed by HDFC Bank, which has seen its value erode by Rs 2.45 trillion and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), which has lost Rs 1.85 trillion to stand at Rs 6.24 trillion, making it India's most-valued.
'The only thing that is safe right now are government securities.'
Customs officials are busy at ports and airports, scanning passengers to ensure that COVID-19 virus-affected people are traced. So, officials are not able to focus much on baggage checking. This could lead to more gold getting smuggled into the country as luggage check at airports is now random unlike earlier where every bag was checked thoroughly.