Uniform gold prices across India will be introduced before the peak marriage season this year, Bablu Dey, working president of Swarnoshilpa Banchao Committee said on Tuesday, while laying out a timeline for the rollout of the much-discussed ‘One Nation, One Rate’ (ONOR) policy in the precious metal.
“It will certainly be introduced before the end of this year and the peak marriage season,” Dey remarked.
All India Jem and Jewellery Domestic Council along with Swarnoshilpa Banchao Committee are the main drivers of the move to introduce uniform gold rates in India. These two bodies are organising meetings in different cities of the country to bring leading players on the same platform on this crucial issue.
First meeting for ONOR in Kochi
He said that the move to introduce ‘One Nation One Rate’ of gold in the country got off to an earnest start on July 6, when leading jewellers of the country met in Kochi. “Leading jewellers agreed on the move in the meeting in the city of Kerala. The next meeting has been scheduled in Kolkata on July 25 to hold another round of discussions on the same issue,” revealed Dey.
Major announcement in Mumbai
“We have planned to make a big announcement on September 5 when we are holding a major exhibition in Jio Centre in Mumbai,” Dey said.
The period between October and February-March is considered the peak marriage season in India. According to Confederation of All India Traders Association, as many as 38 lakh weddings took place in the country in the peak season which involved a total business of about Rs 4.74 lakh crore. Needless to say a substantial part of this amount is spent on gold jewellery.
Gold consumption in 2024
Sachin Jain, regional CEO, India, of World Gold Council told the media in late April that aggregate gold demand in the country in 2024 could be in the range of 700-800 tonne.
According to jewellers, uniform gold rate will usher in transparency in the market. Right now customers are often puzzled since different stores display different prices of the metal at the same time.
“Gold price have shot through the roof and customers are stressed. They feel harassed when different outlets in the same city offer different prices of gold on the same day,” said a Kolkata-based jeweller.
Currently bullion market association sets different rates for each city, that is publicly available in the afternoon.
The ‘One Nation One Rate’ policy could reduce prices by removing price distortions based on geography, think experts.
One of the structural problems in the gold jewellery market in India is that gold prices vary from city to city. The move towards a uniform rate will herald transparency for the customers. Biz News Business News – Personal Finance News, Share Market News, BSE/NSE News, Stock Exchange News Today
