NEW DELHI : India’s gold imports declined nearly 34% to 670.4 tn in the year ended March, from the 2012-13 (Apr-Mar) level of 1,013.9 tn following stringent curbs imposed by the government and the Reserve Bank of India on overseas purchases of the precious metal, Minister of State for Commerce
Nirmala Sitharaman said replying to a query in Rajya Sabha. To another query on gold reserves held by the Reserve Bank of India, the minister said: “As per RBI’s statistical supplement dated Jun 18, gold held by RBI is 557.8 tn.” “The RBI or government has no data available indicating the availability of gold with public,” she added.
Under measures to contain the current account deficit, the government and the central bank has undertaken a series of measures, including a hike in customs duty and physical curbs on import of gold. -Cogencis
