RBI may regulate jewellers' gold saving schemes
19 Aug 2011
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to bring some regulation on the gold-linked saving schemes operated by jewellers across the country, according to an industry official.
Almost all major jewellers in the country are running saving schemes linked to purchase of gold. There are also instances of jewellers disappearing with people's savings.
With these gold-linked saving schemes, these jewellers are operating parallel non-banking finance companies without RBI's permission, Ajay Mitra, managing director, India and Middle East, World Gold Council (WGC), said in Ahmedabad today.
"Now the RBI is looking at it and we expect it to bring some regulation in this regard," Mitra said, adding, the union ministry of consumer affairs has proposed to make hallmarking of gold compulsory from January 2012 for all the 3,50,000-odd jewellers in the country.
With the stock markets under pressure, investors, mainly in India and China, have turned to the yellow metal to book profits, Mitra said. Gold prices may increase further and touch the Rs30,000 per 10 gm mark in the country before the year-end, he added.
On the local market, gold prices rose to a record above Rs28,000 per 10 gm amid fears of another global economic turmoil.
Marketmen expect prices to touch Rs30,000 level well before Diwali as investors are increasingly shifting funds to gold amid free fall in equity markets.
