NEW DELHI : Indian gold jewellery exports can increase by 400% in the next five years if domestic hallmarking standards improve, the World Gold Council said on Thursday.
"We estimate that exports could increase to at least $40bn from $8bn in 2013 and up to 2.5 million jobs could be created by 2020, if local consumers, overseas buyers and financial markets could place their trust in the quality and purity of Indian gold. The government's gold monetization scheme would also be materially more effective," the report said.
It stated that although Indian households own around 22,000 tonnes of gold and around 600 tonnes of gold is used in jewellery production each year, gold jewellery here is still affected by under-caratage of anywhere from 10% to 15%, on average, with widespread differences in purity. This means that, when a consumer purchases an item of jewellery and is told the gold content is worth Rs 10,000, it is, on average worth Rs 8,500 to Rs 9,000, the report said.
Since the introduction of a hallmarking standard in 2000 by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) India has made good progress in developing its hallmarking system, it said. However, only 30% of Indian gold jewellery is currently hallmarked, according to the report. There are widespread differences in purity and an average under-caratage of anywhere from 10% to 15%.
The report highlights that a lack of BIS-recognized hallmarking centres across the country is also likely to have an impact on the successful implementation of the Indian government's gold monetization scheme which is dependent upon the collateralization value of gold.
Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com
