Gold imports at $42 bn during Apr-Jan

For 2011-12 they were $56.3 billion, says Minister of State for Finance Namo Narain Meena

The government today said gold imports have increased in recent years and were valued at $42 billion in the April-January period of the current fiscal.

For 2011-12 they had reached $56.3 billion, Minister of State for Finance Namo Narain Meena said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

"India's gold imports have increased in recent years, reflecting the increasing size of domestic gold market," Meena said.

Gold imports in 2010-11 were pegged at $40.5 billion, while in 2009-10 they amounted to $28.6 billion.

According to a report of the working group of Reserve Bank, gold is imported in India mainly through designated banks and MMTC.

During 2011-12, gold imports through designated banks were estimated to be 603 tonne, or 56%, of total gold imports.

In a separate reply, Meena said India's total external debt at the end of September is estimated at $365 billion.

High gold imports are putting pressure on the country's Current Account Deficit (CAD), which touched a peak of 5.4% of the GDP in the July-September quarter.

The government has taken a number of steps to check import of the precious metal by hiking duty and also linking gold deposit schemes of banks with Exchange Traded Funds of mutual funds.