Page 30 - Bullion World Issue 9 January 2022

INDIA news
Bullion World | Issue 09 | January 2022

As mandatory

hallmarking draws

near, the number of

registered jewellers
surges

Following the government's decision to make
hallmarking mandatory for gold jewellery from
middle of June this year, the number of jewellers
registered with the Bureau of Indian Standards
(BIS) has nearly tripled from 43,153 in June 2021
to 1,24,034 as of November 15, according to
data available with the Gem & Jewellery Export
Promotion Council (GJEPC).

The ripple effects of mandatory hallmarking are
already being felt by the retail industry as the
move has boosted consumer confidence in gold,
said a media release issued by GJEPC.

Source: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com

Rebound in gold imports widens
India’s trade deficit

Indian households are once again hoarding gold, pushing up the import
bill and widening the trade deficit. The country’s trade deficit widened to
$122 billion in April-November 2021, as gold imports shot up despite its
Unique identification for still elevated prices.

gold jewellery comes into The gold import bill for the first eight months of the current fiscal year

soared 170% compared to the same period of 2020-21 and so did the
effect trade deficit. But comparisons with the corresponding period of last
year is misleading as the economy was in a lockdown for most of the
Hallmarking of gold jewellery with six-digit Alpha first quarter and under partial lockdown in the second quarter, denying
numeric numbers came into effect in all the districts households an opportunity to spend on non-essential goods.
of Kerala, except Idukki, along with 256 districts in
the country where hallmarking facility is available. Source: https://www.moneycontrol.com
The Bureau of Indian Standards has stipulthe ated
that all gold jewellers should provide the unique
identification number for the jewellery they sell to
ensure that customers got the gold of the stipulated
purity as per international standards. Idukki has
been exempted because there are no hallmarking
facilities in the district.

Source: https://www.irishtimes.com
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