Please don't buy gold for one year: Chidambaram

June 13, 2013

New Delhi, Jun 13: Finance Minster P Chidambaram Thursday reiterated his appeal to public to control their craving for gold.

Chidambaram was addressing a press conference to detail the steps being taken by the government to get the economy on track. "If we can have for six months or one year almost minimal gold imports into the country, it will dramatically change the situation on the current account deficit (CAD) and we will see its positive impact on every other index that majors the economy, stock market, exchange rate, interest rates," he added.

Quoting statistics, Chidambaram said the net gold imports averaged USD 135 million per day in the first 13 days of May till May 20. However, the subsequent fourteen business days, it averaged only USD 36 million.

This steep fall in gold imports was facilitated by a number of measures the Government took to dissuade people from buying gold. The Government hiked the import duty on the highly coveted metal from 4 to 6 percent in January followed by a more recent hike in June taking the import duty to 8 percent.

The central bank too made some moves towards lowering gold imports by mandating all letters of credit (LCs) to be opened by nominated banks and agencies only under 100% cash basis. The RBI also mandated all gold imports to necessarily be on documents against payment (DP) basis meaning the imports on documents against acceptance (DA) basis would not be permitted.

"I am happy that all my appeals are being heeded partly by the people of India. So, gold imports have sharply come down but I would be happy if they come down even further," said Chidambaram who also recommended inflation-indexed bonds as an alternative to gold investment.

Comments

Add new comment

Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.

Air India Express brings back Mangaluru–Muscat direct flights from March 2026

News Network

December 15,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 15: Air India Express has announced that it will resume direct flight services between Mangaluru and Muscat from March 2026, restoring an important international air link for passengers from the coastal region.

Airport authorities said the service will operate twice a week—on Sundays and Tuesdays—from March 1. The initial flights are scheduled on March 3, 8 and 10, followed by March 15 and 17, with the same operating pattern to continue thereafter. The flight duration is approximately three hours and 25 minutes.

The Mangaluru–Muscat route was earlier operated under the 2025 summer schedule, with services beginning on July 14. At that time, Air India Express had operated four flights a week before suspending the service.

Officials said the summer schedule will come into effect from March 29, after which changes in flight timings and departure schedules from Mangaluru are expected. Passengers have been advised to check the latest schedules while planning their travel.

The resumption of direct flights to Muscat is expected to significantly benefit expatriates, business travellers and others, further strengthening Mangaluru’s air connectivity with the Gulf region.

Comments