The Only Way to Stop Indians Buying Gold? Take Away Their Cash
- Customers not tempted by 16-month-old gold deposit program
- Plan was designed to curb India’s massive gold imports
India's Plan to Curb Gold Imports
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It seems the only way to stop Indians from buying more gold is to take their money away.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government spent 16 months trying to persuade Indians to deposit their jewelry in the bank to earn interest, in an effort to curb soaring imports of the precious metal. But the program has only lured a tiny fraction of the $900 billion of gold that families and temples are estimated to have stashed away. On the other hand, Modi’s controversial decision to withdraw all high-value banknotes did the job instead.