Worried over the high current account deficit (CAD), which had hit a historic high of 6.7 percent of the GDP in the December quarter of last fiscal, the government has warned that it would be forced to take more steps to curb gold imports, which touched 162 tonne in May.
"For May, the import of gold was 162 tonnes," finance minister Palaniyappan Chidambaram said yesterday. Economic affairs secretary Arvind Mayaram too hinted that the government could take more steps to reduce gold imports, which may include banning sale of the yellow metal by banks. "More steps will have to be taken to reduce gold imports. Export import policy on gold will have to be reviewed. We may consider banning gold coin sale by banks," he said. The government and Reserve Bank have been taking steps to reduce gold import. Last month, the RBI had imposed curbs on import of the yellow metal by banks. Besides, it has also put restrictions on banks and NBFCs for providing loans against gold coins as well as units of gold
ETFs.
The government has also taken steps like hike in import duty to restrict gold imports. Gold imports into the country, the world's largest consumer of the metal, stood at around 830 tonne in 2012-13. Gold and silver imports during April, 2013 jumped by 138 per cent to $7.5 billion against $3.1 billion in the year-ago period.
