'Once the market decides it wants to go up, it goes up -- no amount of bad news can really hold it back.'
Not a single retail outlet ran dry. Every household that wanted a cylinder got one. India faced neither a 1991 moment nor a 2013 one. Macroeconomic stability held. This was not an accident, and it was not luck alone. It was the work of a government that chose to act as it had during the pandemic -- deliberately and gradually, building one measure upon another rather than reaching for a single dramatic lever, explains V Anantha Nageswaran, chief economic advisor to the Government of India.
Govt raises import duties again, misses the point.
The senior Congress leader was in New Delhi to campaign in Maharashtra Assembly polls.
'The situation globally is quite challenging, but we have the confidence and courage of conviction that we will come out winners even in this challenging time.'
To check rising current account deficit, the government has raised import duties and the Reserve Bank of India had imposed curbs on import of the yellow metal and also laid down various pre-conditions for inward shipments of the precious metal.
Move comes after agencies unearth several cases of misuse of the 80:20 scheme.
Recovery is attributed to higher domestic demand, export orders and import by NRIs.
The government hiked import duty on gold to 10 per cent and the RBI also imposed curbs on its imports by linking it with exports.
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has stepped up its watch on the import of unbranded gold jewellery amid a spurt in seizures on international borders and from importers. During FY24, the CBIC and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) jointly seized about 5 tonnes of gold, 30 per cent more than what they did in FY23. In FY23, 3.5 tonnes of gold was confiscated.
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.
To check rising current account deficit, the government raised import duties and the RBI imposed curbs on import of the metal and also laid down various pre-conditions for inward shipments of the precious metal.
The Indian government could lose a staggering $3 billion in revenues over a five-year period on account of differential import duties levied on refined and unrefined gold, says a report.
The new baggage rules, 2026, come into effect from midnight on February 2 and replace a decade-old baggage rule.
People across Kashmir have donated generously to Iran, which has been ravaged by war. Donations included cash, gold, silverware, and copper utensils. A woman even donated gold kept as a memento of her husband, who died 28 years ago. The Iranian Embassy in New Delhi has expressed its gratitude for the support.
The Reserve Bank of India on Monday moved on Monday to tighten gold imports again in an attempt to rein-in a record high current account deficit by taming demand for the yellow metal.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appealed to citizens to adopt austerity measures, including avoiding destination weddings abroad and reducing edible oil consumption, to mitigate the impact of the West Asia crisis on India's economy.
Steps such as safeguard duty in the works to plug the route
The government has hiked import duty on gold three times in a year and recently raised it by 2 per cent to 8 per cent to curb demand.
India's gold imports could pick up in the next few months after slumping 81 percent in June as falling prices spur buying, a government source said, adding to New Delhi's anxiety over a record-low rupee and a wide current account deficit.
India will now face a lower reciprocal tariff of 10 per cent, down from 25 per cent, after US President Donald Trump announced a new global levy on items imported into America in the wake of the Supreme Court verdict against his sweeping duties on several nations.
Indian government has hiked the import duty on refined gold three times since January 1 and it now is at a record 10 per cent.
Gold imports surged by nearly four-fold to $4.17 billion in October to meet the festival season demand.
By tying gold imports directly to export volumes, India is effectively trying to cap how much bullion can be brought into the country, tightening supplies and driving up local prices.
'At the first sign of real trouble, that money will move. There will be a run.'
India's gold and silver imports from its free trade agreement (FTA) partner UAE have skyrocketed 210 per cent to $10.7 billion in 2023-24 and there is a need to potentially revise the concessional customs duty rates under the pact to mitigate the arbitrage driving this surge, a report said on Monday. Economic think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said this sharp rise in gold and silver imports is primarily driven by import duty concessions granted by India to the UAE under the India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).
This year, WGC expects India's gold demand to stand at 865-965 tonnes. Last year, it was 864.2 tonnes.
India has no plans to ration fuel supplies despite ongoing disruptions in global energy markets, according to a top oil ministry official. The country has maintained adequate inventories of crude products and LPG while diversifying imports to manage supply risks.
The four officials were asked questions related to the UPA government's '20:80' gold import scheme, which was cleared by Chidambaram on May 13, 2014, barely three days before the counting of votes of the general election
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Gold prices on Tuesday rose by Rs 227 to Rs 28,418 per 10 gm in futures trade, largely on speculative positions created by participants amid a firming trend at the spot market.
'You set up your SIPs and you do not touch them. Not during COVID, not during a war scare, not when your neighbour tells you the market is finished. You let the noise pass over you.' 'The beauty of this approach is that it does not require courage or conviction in the moment. It just requires inertia -- keep the SIP running and do not look at your portfolio too often.'
India, the world's largest gold consumer, is unlikely to announce a cut in customs duty on gold in its annual budget on Friday, despite demands by a leading industry body, traders said on Monday.
Official imports into India shrank almost 90 per cent in the six months to November
Import by 4-star and 5-star export houses effectively barred from importing for domestic consumption.
In order to check rising current account deficit, the government had raised import duties on the yellow metal to 10 per cent while Reserve Bank of India imposed curbs on import of gold and also laid down various pre-conditions for inward shipments of the precious metal.
In July alone, 2.5 tonnes of gold coins were imported so far from South Korea under zero-duty facility
'For most investors, I recommend a low double-digit allocation (10 to 12 per cent) to gold and silver combined.'
India Ratings and Research predicts the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will maintain the repo rate at 5.25 per cent throughout FY27, despite potential inflationary pressures from higher fuel prices, with inflation expected to remain within the central bank's tolerance band.
The restrictions on gold imports will be reviewed by March end, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said on Monday.
