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Gold prices in India plunge to lowest in two years

Published

9 years ago

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New Delhi: Gold prices in India dipped further on Monday to below Rs.25,000 per 10 grams – the lowest in two years – with the precious metal losing its sheen on account of bulk sales in China and hopes of rate hike in the US.

With festive season some two months away, stakeholders were divided over the demand and the trend in prices in the medium term, even as the country continued to rank among the top three importers and consumers of gold.

According to reports, some 33 tonnes were sold in the Shanghai spot market on Monday as investors sought to shift focus to other avenues, primarily expecting the US Federal Reserves to increase its interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade.

The price of gold in Bengaluru, for example, dipped to Rs.24,390 per 10 grams – the lowest since April 2013.

“Rate remained at Rs.24,390 per 10gm in the local market, same as on previous two days after declining from Rs.24,450 on Friday and Rs.24,740 on July 12 due to lower demand and negative sentiment,” Venugopala Shetty, proprietor of Ganesha Jewellers, told IANS in Bengaluru.

“It is expected there will be huge demand in a day or two,” said Rahul Gupta, director of the Delhi-based P.P. Jewellers told IANS. “The situation is almost like that of April 2013 when the price dipped to Rs.25,500 per 10 grams and the demand surged overnight.”

The development on Monday came despite India overtaking China as the largest importer of gold, at 769 tonnes in the last year.

“We expect the gold prices to fall by another Rs.30-40 per gram (22 carat) and settle down there,” N. Anantha Padmanabhan, managing director of NAC Jewellers, told IANS in Chennai.

The falling gold price also pulled down the prices of silver. “Currently silver is priced at Rs.36,500 per kg. We expect it go down to Rs.35,000 per kg,” said Padmanabhan. Noting the US dollar is strengthening and the interest rates are expected to go up there, he said that hence there is pressure on the gold prices.

The demand for gold in India for the first quarter (January-March) of 2015 was at 191.7 tonnes, up by 15 percent as compared to the corresponding period of 2014, World Gold Council (WGC) said in a report. Total jewellery demand in India for first quarter of 2015 was up by 22 percent at 150.8 tonnes as compared to 123.5 tonnes in Q1 of 2014.

“The current downswing in Indian gold prices is directly related to the strengthening of the US dollar in recent times. We are hoping that the present trend may be arrested soon and the prices could stabilize within a month or so,” said Mumbai Jewellers’ Federation president Rakesh Shetty.

However, this fall in gold prices – the lowest in the past five years – has spurred the demand in gold and other precious metals and we expect a buoyant market by Diwali, he added.

“There is a meltdown in the international commodity market in the last three-four weeks. But today the prices fell sharply as China sold around 6,065 tonnes of gold in the morning,” Bachhraj Bamalwa, partner, Nemichand Bamalwa and past chairman of All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation told IANS.

He also mentioned that it is difficult to predict the price trend in the future.

“Gold is a hedge commodity and people tend to invest in the yellow metal when the global economy is hit. Now with the global economy seemingly recovering and the US dollar appreciating, people are investing in other options except gold,” Premjit Sengupta, chief marketing officer, Senco Gold Ltd said in Kolkata.

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Meghalaya Reserves Legalized Gambling and Sports Betting for Tourists

Published

2 years ago

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June 25, 2022

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PureWin Online Betting

The State Scores Extra High on Gaming-Friendly Industry Index

Meghalaya scored 92.85 out of 100 possible points in a Gaming Industry Index and proved to be India’s most gaming-friendly state following its recent profound legislation changes over the field allowing land-based and online gaming, including games of chance, under a licensing regime.

The index by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) uses a scale of 0 to 100 to measure the level of legalisation on gambling and betting achieved by a state based on the scores over a set of seven different games – lottery, horse racing, betting on sports, poker, rummy, casino and fantasy sports

Starting from February last year, Meghalaya became the third state in India’s northeast to legalise gambling and betting after Sikkim and Nagaland. After consultations with the UKIBC, the state proceeded with the adoption of the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021 and the nullification of the Meghalaya Prevention of Gambling Act, 1970. Subsequently in December, the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021 were notified and came into force.

All for the Tourists

The move to legalise and license various forms of offline and online betting and gambling in Meghalaya is aimed at boosting tourism and creating jobs, and altogether raising taxation revenues for the northeastern state. At the same time, the opportunities to bet and gamble legally will be reserved only for tourists and visitors.

“We came out with a Gaming Act and subsequently framed the Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021. The government will accordingly issue licenses to operate games of skill and chance, both online and offline,” said James P. K. Sangma, Meghalaya State Law and Taxation Minister speaking in the capital city of Shillong. “But the legalized gambling and gaming will only be for tourists and not residents of Meghalaya,” he continued.

To be allowed to play, tourists and people visiting the state for work or business purposes will have to prove their non-resident status by presenting appropriate documents, in a process similar to a bank KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure.

Meghalaya Reaches Out to a Vast Market

With 140 millions of people in India estimated to bet regularly on sports, and a total of 370 million desi bettors around prominent sporting events, as per data from one of the latest reports by Esse N Videri, Meghalaya is set to reach out and take a piece of a vast market.

Estimates on the financial value of India’s sports betting market, combined across all types of offline channels and online sports and cricket predictions and betting platforms, speak about amounts between $130 and $150 billion (roughly between ₹9.7 and ₹11.5 lakh crore).

Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi are shown to deliver the highest number of bettors and Meghalaya can count on substantial tourists flow from their betting circles. The sports betting communities of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are also not to be underestimated.

Among the sports, cricket is most popular, registering 68 percent of the total bet count analyzed by Esse N Videri. Football takes second position with 11 percent of the bets, followed by betting on FIFA at 7 percent and on eCricket at 5 percent. The last position in the Top 5 of popular sports for betting in India is taken by tennis with 3 percent of the bet count.

Local Citizens will Still have Their Teer Betting

Meghalaya residents will still be permitted to participate in teer betting over arrow-shooting results. Teer is a traditional method of gambling, somewhat similar to a lottery draw, and held under the rules of the Meghalaya Regulation of the Game of Arrow Shooting and the Sale of Teer Tickets Act, 2018.

Teer includes bettors wagering on the number of arrows that reach the target which is placed about 50 meters away from a team of 20 archers positioned in a semicircle.

The archers shoot volleys of arrows at the target for ten minutes, and players place their bets choosing a number between 0 and 99 trying to guess the last two digits of the number of arrows that successfully pierce the target.

If, for example, the number of hits is 256, anyone who has bet on 56 wins an amount eight times bigger than their wager.

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