Achhe Din for the Bullion Market seems to have arrived even before the Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi could take the mantle. The Indian Bullion and 
Speaking to journalists Mohit Kamboj, President, Indian Bullion and Jewellers Association (IBJA) said the association has presented a detail presentation on various demand of the industry to BJP President Rajnath Singh on February 19, 2014.
“We were assured that necessary action would be taken within 30-60 days after the party takes power. We think that BJP has started fulfilling its promise even before it is sworn in,” said Kamboj.
The Association expects the Government to reduce import duty to 4 per cent from 10 per cent soon. The reduction in duty is expected to come in the next 10-15 days or in the Budget to be presented by the new Government, he said.
Kamboj expects the gold prices to touch 23,000 to 24,000 per 10 grams before Diwali with spot premium on gold vanishing and the Government reducing the import duty. With the reduction in prices and positive sentiment in the bullion trade, Kamboj expects the demand to improve steadily by Diwali.
The Bullion trade in India will revive under the leadership of Narendra Modi’s Government, he said. Coming down heavily on the UPA government, Kamboj said most of the banks exposure to the gem and jewellery has turned bad because of the faulty policy decision of the previous Government.
“We are requesting the RBI to ease the banks NPA norms for the industry, so that the industry can revive and repay the default loan. We need the right business environment to revive our business and pay back the bank loans. We do not want to cheat banks,” he said.
Banks have exposure of Rs 2.5 lakh crore to the gem and jewellery industry, of which Rs 37,000 crore has been classified non-performing asset (NPA). This was largely due to the banks stopping loans to purchase gold in August last year. Under the instruction of the former Finance Minister P Chidambaram and RBI, banks started recalling the gold loans given to the bullion industry, he said.
Source : Lokesh Shastri