World Gold Council, Indian Business School Researching Gold Role In Economy
As India pushes closer to regaining the title as the world’s biggest gold consuming nation, the World Gold Council and one of the country’s top business schools are researching how the nation’s gold can be used to promote economic growth.
The WGC and the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad have partnered to create the Indian Gold Policy Centre, with the objectives to “develop insights into how the significant stocks of gold that India owns can be used to advance growth, employment, social inclusion and the economic wealth of the nation.”
Somasundaram PR, WGC managing director for, India said that this research is needed to determine how gold can benefit the Indian society as a whole.
“It is estimated that India holds around 22,000 tonnes of gold valued at over a trillion U.S. dollars,” he said in a prepared statement. “To develop gold’s potential, we need to understand gold’s role in the Indian economy, through high quality data, insights and research.”
Professor Ashish Nanda, director of the business school, said their goal is to provide innovative solutions by researching the growth and development of India’s gold industry and the global sector.
Despite some remaining restrictions on gold imports, on Nov. 13 the WGC reported that gold demand in India increased 39% in the third quarter, compared to the third quarter of 2013. From July to September, India’s gold demand was 182.9 metric tons, up from 114.5 tons in the third quarter of 2013.
In its report, WGC raised its Indian gold demand estimate to 850 to 950 tons for 2014. At the same time they lowered their gold demand estimates for China to demand to 850 to 950 tons, essentially estimating the same amount of demand for both gold-loving nations.
The WGC also noted that the recent drop in gold prices and lower premiums are making the yellow metal an attractive investment again in India. |
