02-Dec (FirstPost) — After demonetisation, it is the turn of the bank lockers that has been the wicked rumor on the social media. That India is home to a gargantuan 20000 metric tonnes of gold held as much in bank lockers as in dingy lofts of households could have possibly stoked this mischievous rumour.
Gold and gilded jewellery have been Indians’ staple investment as much in rural India as in urban. Investments in the stock markets are reportedly done by a miniscule section of the Indian population—4 to 5 percent whereas gold is the favored investment irrespective of the class divide. It is a great leveler in that sense.
However it is equally true that it beckons as much the crooks as it does the honest. It is estimated that bulk of the black money is invested in gold, followed by real estate and then kept as such i.e. as currency notes. The recent demonetisation then was on the most innocuous form of black money say the critics. One therefore expected the government to gun after gold next.
The income tax department has clarified that:
1) 100 grams (3.2 ounces) of gold per male in the family is kosher; 2) 250 grams (8.0 ounces) of gold per unmarried female in the family is also kosher; 3) 500 grams (16.1 ounces) of gold per married female in the family also passes the litmus test of honest investment; and 4) Heirlooms too pass this litmus test.
PG View: It seems the efforts in India to account for every bit of wealth is far from over . . .
