Agrawal opened the summit by outlining its goals \u2013 \u2018boosting exports, policy changes, and the hope that the government will work on the outcome of these discussions\u2019. Dutta stressed that the government had and would continue to support the gems and jewellery industry with trade-friendly policies, and outlined the measures already taken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
GOLD INTELLIGENCE<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Alistair Hewitt, Director, Market Intelligence, WGC, presented select findings on global gold buying patterns and attitudes from a survey of 18,000 people in India, China, the US, Germany, Canada and Russia. Confidence in gold as an investment was shown to be high across all age groups. However, the survey also revealed why people who haven\u2019t bought gold haven\u2019t done so (L-R) Shri Ashok Seth, Regional Chairman (Northern Region), GJEPC; Shri Rajesh Khosla, Chairman-Emeritus, MMTC-PAMP; Smt. Rupa Dutta, Economic Advisor, MoC&I (Ministry of Commerce & Industry); Shri Somasundaram PR, Managing Director, India, World Gold Council; Shri KV Tirumala, Deputy Director General of Foreign Trade, MoC&I; Shri Prakash Chandra Pincha, Regional Chairman (Eastern Region), GJEPC; Shri Shailesh Sangani, Trade Representative 10 ] January 2020 (a lack of trust in its purity or the retailers they\u2019re buying from). Hewitt ended his presentation with the remark that there was a \u2018huge untapped audience for gold, and that trust and education can be harnessed\u2019 to reach out to this audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BUILDING TRUST TO RAISE DEMAND<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
In his presentation, HJS Pasricha, Deputy DG, Hallmarking, BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards), stressed that hallmarking was all about building trust through standardization in both bullion refineries and in jewellery. He also said that it was promising that there was growth in the number of jewellers registering to have their products hallmarked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The panel discussion that followed was on demand and supply, and was moderated by Manisha Gupta, Editor, Commodities and Currencies, CNBC TV 18. Pasricha clarified that the jewellery that people had at home did not come under the scope of any hallmarking requirements unless it was to be sold. Jewellers would also be given time to exhaust their old stock before hallmarking became mandatory, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Surendra Mehta, National Secretary, India Bullion and Jewellers Association (IBJA), threw light on demand: \u2018Future demand this year will still be down by 15\u201320 per cent, but next year, we expect demand to be the same as in 2018.\u2019 Surendra Pal Singh, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, said that in the overall scenario, \u2018India is a robust gold market with a good future.\u2019 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chirag Sheth, Senior Research Consultant: South Asia and South- East Asia, Metals Focus, when asked about demand, said, \u2018There is a large youth audience and there are lessons to be learnt from China in tapping this audience \u2013 they have employed product innovation to reach out to the young consumer.\u2019 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
James Jose from the Cochin Refinery spoke about the need for making hallmarking mandatory, for digital hallmarking and for a gold spot exchange.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
FINDINGS OF THE WGC GLOBAL SURVEY<\/h4>\n\n\n\n75% of investors in India trust gold more than currencies. This number is lower in other countries, but always over 50% \u2013 gold is a deeply trusted investment.<\/p>
67% of retail investors worldwide agree that gold is a good safeguard against inflation\/currency fluctuations.<\/p>
81% of fashion and lifestyle consumers worldwide agreed that gold is a good heirloom to pass on to family\/children.<\/p>
51% of retail investors worldwide feel that gold can bring them luck.<\/p>
34% of 18 to 38-year-olds worldwide had invested in gold in the past year.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
NEED FOR INDUSTRY UNIFICATION AND PRINCIPLES<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
WGC MD PR Somasundaram set the context for the upcoming discussions when he outlined the state of the gems and jewellery sector in India. Stressing on the need for industry to get together, he pointed out that of the 80-odd recommendations made in the \u2018Transforming India\u2019s Gold Market\u2019 report by the NITI Aayog, not all require laws \u2013 many can be implemented simply by consensus within the industry. Stressing the lack of unification and transparency in the industry, he said, \u2018There is a need for evidence-based policy \u2013 but there is no evidence for it yet.\u2019 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He had laid the ground for the next panel discussion on the India gold policy, which saw Dutta, Somasundaram himself, KV Tirumala, Deputy Director General of Foreign Trade, and Prakash Chandra Pincha, Chairman, Eastern Region, GJEPC, representing the trade. The discussion was moderated by Rajesh Khosla, Chairman Emeritus, MMTC-PAMP. Khosla set the agenda for the discussion: \u2018We don\u2019t produce gold, but we have gold. We\u2019re supposed to be the largest above-ground gold mine in the world, with all the gold put away in households \u2013 about 25,000 tons. There have been attempts to utilize this through gold monetization schemes and other attempts\u2026 or should we use a heavy hand? That\u2019s the dilemma for policy. For the industry, the need is to consider, within limitations, what is best for India and then to consider what is best for me.\u2019 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dutta said that the DoEA was working on a comprehensive gold policy and had instituted schemes for gold monetization. \u2018We import 800\u2013900 tons a year, but to bring out the 25,000 tons, we need to build a comprehensive environment with hallmarking, assaying centres, etc. You will see some positive actions soon, but we also need more cooperation in practise,\u2019 she said. On a more \u2018user-friendly\u2019 exim policy, Tirumala said, \u2018For the exim policy 2020, we are looking for comments on where the shoe is pinching. The policy is not prescriptive anymore.\u2019 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Somasundaram reiterated that the industry was not being able to represent to the government in a single voice, Pincha agreed and said, \u2018There are black sheep in every trade. We need to introspect and come up with trade principles as a unified industry.\u2019 The discussion ended on a note of more introspection and positive action by the trade before asking for policy measures from the government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
75% of investors in India trust gold more than currencies. This number is lower in other countries, but always over 50% \u2013 gold is a deeply trusted investment.<\/p>
67% of retail investors worldwide agree that gold is a good safeguard against inflation\/currency fluctuations.<\/p>
81% of fashion and lifestyle consumers worldwide agreed that gold is a good heirloom to pass on to family\/children.<\/p>
51% of retail investors worldwide feel that gold can bring them luck.<\/p>
34% of 18 to 38-year-olds worldwide had invested in gold in the past year.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
NEED FOR INDUSTRY UNIFICATION AND PRINCIPLES<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
WGC MD PR Somasundaram set the context for the upcoming discussions when he outlined the state of the gems and jewellery sector in India. Stressing on the need for industry to get together, he pointed out that of the 80-odd recommendations made in the \u2018Transforming India\u2019s Gold Market\u2019 report by the NITI Aayog, not all require laws \u2013 many can be implemented simply by consensus within the industry. Stressing the lack of unification and transparency in the industry, he said, \u2018There is a need for evidence-based policy \u2013 but there is no evidence for it yet.\u2019 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He had laid the ground for the next panel discussion on the India gold policy, which saw Dutta, Somasundaram himself, KV Tirumala, Deputy Director General of Foreign Trade, and Prakash Chandra Pincha, Chairman, Eastern Region, GJEPC, representing the trade. The discussion was moderated by Rajesh Khosla, Chairman Emeritus, MMTC-PAMP. Khosla set the agenda for the discussion: \u2018We don\u2019t produce gold, but we have gold. We\u2019re supposed to be the largest above-ground gold mine in the world, with all the gold put away in households \u2013 about 25,000 tons. There have been attempts to utilize this through gold monetization schemes and other attempts\u2026 or should we use a heavy hand? That\u2019s the dilemma for policy. For the industry, the need is to consider, within limitations, what is best for India and then to consider what is best for me.\u2019 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dutta said that the DoEA was working on a comprehensive gold policy and had instituted schemes for gold monetization. \u2018We import 800\u2013900 tons a year, but to bring out the 25,000 tons, we need to build a comprehensive environment with hallmarking, assaying centres, etc. You will see some positive actions soon, but we also need more cooperation in practise,\u2019 she said. On a more \u2018user-friendly\u2019 exim policy, Tirumala said, \u2018For the exim policy 2020, we are looking for comments on where the shoe is pinching. The policy is not prescriptive anymore.\u2019 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Somasundaram reiterated that the industry was not being able to represent to the government in a single voice, Pincha agreed and said, \u2018There are black sheep in every trade. We need to introspect and come up with trade principles as a unified industry.\u2019 The discussion ended on a note of more introspection and positive action by the trade before asking for policy measures from the government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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