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Could it be the only government in the world with such a policy?
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From Press
Trust of India
via IBNLive.com, Noida, Uttar
Pradesh, India
Sunday, June 17, 2012
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/need-to-dissuade-p...sting-in-gol...
MUMBAI -- Worried over the flow of savings
for investment in gold, Finance Minister
Pranab Mukherjee on
Saturday said there is a need to spread financial literacy to encourage people to invest
in market instruments.
Pointing out that
India's gold imports surged
to $60-62 billion in last fiscal year, the minister regretted that people are investing in
gold with the expectation that
the value of their investment
would appreciate.
"Quantum of
import of gold ... is a clear indication that a large
section of the community ... wants
investment in a dead asset only with
expectation that the value would
appreciate," he said while speaking
at a Zee television award function.
The minister further said, "Time is ripe to motivate our educated upper middle class to climb from saving
mode to wealth-generation mode. ...
"My request to financial analysts and other experts and leaders in this
field is to ensure than we
can create confidence in
the market, spread financial literacy, and the merit of investment could be widely
spread," he said.
The minister added that the government is committed to make India an investment-friendly destination and financial
powerhouse of the world.
"If India can build
on its economic strength, it can be a source of stability for the world economy
and safe destination for restless
global capital, which can
help speed our developmental
process," the minister
said.
On the economic issues, the minister said, "the most important
challenge before the country is
to regain and then sustain
8-9 grwoth per annum."
At the same
time, Mukherjee said, there is a need
to maintain the basic parameters
of healthy development, a moderate rate of inflation,
fiscal consolidation, and current account deficit and obviously higher growth in exports.
While asking
financial analysts and
experts to educate investors,
Mukherjee cautioned:
"We need to put investors' interest in forefornt. If we lose the interest of potential investors, growth will be
stalled."
He further said inputs of experts
on policy correctives and reforms
have helped the government
to "move forward."
"We are now on to the next generation of financial sector reforms, which include, among other things, widening and deepening the Indian security markets as part of concerted
efforts to increase the participation of retail investors in the security market and further the goal of financial
inclusion," he said.
In order to check gold imports, the government
has increased the basic customs duty
on gold bars from 2 per cent to 4 per cent.
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