National
Gold will not glitter this Diwali!
By Aparajita Gupta
New Delhi, Sep 24 (IANS) With Goods and Services Tax (GST), demonetisation and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations coming into effect, gold will not glitter much this Diwali, feels Somasundaram P.R., Managing Director – India of the World Gold Council (WGC).
“Diwali this time has its own challenges. But I am optimistic now, as everything has settled down. It is the AML part which is probably hurting people at the moment. Wedding purchases will be more affected than Dhanteras buying,” Somasundaram told IANS in an interview here.
“I still think there will be a lot of issues with the authorities, but not so much at the consumer end. The organised sector has picked up very well. Demonetisation and AML, though, are definitely hurting,” he added.
Somasundaram said last Diwali came before demonetisation and after three years India had witnessed good monsoons. So “there was really good demand”.
The government has brought the gems and jewellery industry under the purview of Prevention of Money Laundering Act, which in turn has increased compliance requirements. The new indirect tax regime (GST) was rolled out across the country on July 1, in which the yellow metal came in the three per cent bracket.
“First half (January-June) imports were 532 tonnes, while demand was still 298 tonnes. Actually, pre-GST people imported as much as they could. But that didn’t get converted into demand,” Somasundaram said.
At present, gold price is hovering around Rs 29,000 per 10 grams for 22 karat.
“Our estimation is it will take 12-18 months for GST to stabilise in this industry as 70 per cent of it is unorganised.”
He, however, said demand through the black channels have gone down.
“We see consumer behaviour changing in response to GST. Our econometric analysis spanning 26 years of data illustrates that higher taxes act as a headwind to gold demand. But the tax should also change the industry to the benefit of the consumer,” WGC said in a report earlier.
Demand for gold in India for the second quarter (April-June) 2017 was at 167.4 tonnes, up by 37 per cent compared to overall Q2 demand of 122.1 tonnes for 2016, WGC data showed recently.
The total jewellery demand in India for Q2 2017 was up by 41 per cent at 126.7 tonnes as compared to Q2 2016 (89.8 tonne). The value of jewellery demand was Rs 33,000 crore, up by 36 per cent from Q2 2016 (Rs 24,350 crore).
The WGC has put India’s yellow metal demand for this calendar year between 650 tonnes and 750 tonnes.
Reports said the import bill for gold in value terms, according to the Ministry of Commerce, was $23 billion (Rs 1.5 lakh crore) in 2016.
Talking about the government’s demonetisation drive and its impact on the sector, Somasundaram said: “The level of activities are definitely much better now than when it was introduced. Our view is, demand will pick up (during Diwali), but whether it will really pick up to potential is something which is difficult to say.”
India’s gold demand for 2016 fell sharply by 21 per cent to 676 tonnes from 857 tonnes in 2015.
(Aparajita Gupta can be contacted at [email protected])
–IANS
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Lucknow: Vishal Singh, a renowned social worker from Lucknow, also known as Foodman, has once again made India proud. He was honored by the Happy Hands Gloves Cooperative Limited Company in Korathai, Thailand, for his work with the Hunger Free World Mission.
The Hunger Free World Mission’s meeting was held in Korathai, Thailand, under Vishal Singh’s leadership. Representatives from several countries, including Mr. Raja Dwivedi (Managing Director of Happy Hands Gloves Limited), Thailand Coordinator Mr. Raja Mishra, and member Mr. Varun Singh, attended the event.
Under Vishal Singh’s leadership, the attendees took a pledge to work together toward creating a hunger-free world.
Speaking on the occasion, Vishal Singh explained that the main goal of the Hunger Free World Mission is social participation. He said the mission is not just about feeding people but also about meeting other basic needs of those who are struggling. The mission focuses on helping families of terminally ill patients in hospitals by providing food and shelter. It also works to fulfill essential needs like education, jobs, and care for the elderly.
For the last 16 years, the Vijay Sri Foundation has been providing free services, benefiting thousands of people. Vishal Singh highlighted that the mission aims to gain global recognition like other organizations such as WHO, WWF, and Red Cross, which work for social causes.
During this meeting, Vishal Singh was appointed as the Chairman of the Hunger Free World Mission by representatives from various countries. They also discussed holding regular meetings in different countries to push the mission forward.
Business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has also supported this humanitarian mission, vowing to promote the idea of “Seva Parmo Dharma” (Service is the highest duty) worldwide. Vishal Singh praised him, stating that people like Dr .Abhishek Verma inspire others to work for the betterment of society.
Recently, Romania’s Ambassador, Mr . Daniela Sezonov Ţane, invited Vishal Singh to the Romanian Embassy in Delhi, where they discussed the mission in detail. Impressed by his humanitarian work, she honored Vishal Singh and invited him to Romania to take the mission forward .
Food man Vishal Singh has been serving the people of India for the past 16 years. Through the Vijay Sri Foundation, he provides free meals to cancer patients & their families ,shelter, and education for women & children along with running free old-age homes in Lucknow.
In addition to his humanitarian work, Vishal Singh also addresses issues like crime and corruption through his role as Chairman of Seva Path Media and Managing Director of Vijay Sri Foundation.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vishal Singh and his team worked tirelessly to provide food and help to the needy, including starving children, elderly citizens, and pregnant women. Despite contracting the virus himself, he continued to assist others after his recovery. He even created a life-saving oxygen regulator using household items, which was praised by doctors both in India and abroad.
In his address at the meeting, Vishal Singh spoke about his mission to create a hunger-free world. He pointed out that India’s large population, along with issues like unemployment and poverty, has caused the country to fall on the Hunger Index. He urged people to contribute just one handful of grains daily to help create a hunger-free world.
He concluded by saying that through social participation, we can empower the people around us, meet their basic needs, and work together to build a stronger, more prosperous, and developed society.
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