Gold imports at 162 tons in May; steps to contain it on anvil

Worried over high Current Account Deficit (CAD), the government is contemplating more steps to curb gold imports, which according to Finance Minister P Chidambaram stood at 162 tonnes during May.
"For May, the import of gold was 162 tonnes," he told reporters after a meeting of the Financial Stability Development Council (FSDC) here.
At its meeting today, the FSDC, headed by Chidambaram, also discussed the concerns on gold imports.
"The Council noted with concern the significant increase in gold imports in recent months and deliberated on the issues involved in this regard," the Finance Ministry said in a statement after the meeting.

Department of Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram too hinted that the government could take more steps to reduce gold imports, which may include banning sale of the yellow metal by banks.
"More steps will have to be taken to reduce gold imports. Export import policy on gold will have to be reviewed. May consider banning gold coin sale by banks," he said.

The government and Reserve Bank have been taking steps to reduce gold import. High import has widened the current account deficit (CAD), which hit a record high of 6.7 per cent of GDP in October-December quarter of 2012-13.

Last month, the RBI had imposed curbs on import of the yellow metal by banks. Besides, it has also put restrictions on banks and NBFCs for providing loans against gold coins as well as units of gold ETFs.
The government has also taken steps like hike in import duty to restrict gold imports.
Gold imports into India, the world's largest consumer of the metal, stood at around 830 tonne in 2012-13.
Gold and silver imports during April, 2013 jumped by 138 per cent to USD 7.5 billion against USD 3.1 billion in the year-ago period.