The Battle for India's $45 Billion Gold Industry Has Begun

An employee works on six kg of gold crown for up coming hindu lord ganesha festival on the production line of the P. N. Gadgil Jewellers Pvt. Ltd., gold jewellery manufacturing facility in Pune, India, on Monday, Aug 17, 2017.

Photographer: Dhiraj Singh

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India’s past and future are colliding in Anand Ghugre’s family jewelry shop in Mumbai.

“We still operate the way my father did for 50 years,” said Ghugre, 52, explaining that transactions were typically in cash and were not always recorded. “For small jewelers and the unorganized sector, most of our sales happen through personal connections. Sometimes they don’t want bills, but the jewelers can’t say no to them.”