RBI talking with government over gold import curbs

With gold imports shooting up by around 280 percent last month compared to imports during October 2013, India's central bank is having talks with the central government on increasing the gold import curbs, said a senior official here Monday.

According to Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) deputy governor S.S. Mundra, the central bank is in talks with the government on increasing curbs on imports of the yellow metal.

As per government's quick estimates, gold imports during October 2014 were valued at $4,178.36 million -- up from $1,098.43 million during the same month last year.

According to World Gold Council (WGC), jewellery demand in India saw a 60 percent year-on-year increase to 183 tonnes during the third quarter of 2014.

"While the increase is partly reflective of the weakness in Q3 in India last year - when the government introduced import curbs and raised import duties - it also demonstrates the resilience of the country's appetite for gold jewellery," the WGC said in its recent report.