KOCHI:The 15th India International Gold Convention kick was started at Le Meridien Convention Centre with palpable optimism following the release of Niti Aayog report on Transforming Indian Gold Markets this February.
Over 400 delegates representing different limbs of gold industry from India and abroad, trade organisations, financial institutions and policy experts will be holding deliberations in the next three days on the newer opportunities and future plans in view of the changing face of gold industry in the country.
The gathering consists of 11 bullion banks, 6 nominated banks, 6 international refiners, 25+ domestic refiners, leading jewellery manufacturers from India, official / trade representatives from Canada, Peru, Ghana, Liberia, Myanmar and Singapore.
The conference is organised by Foretell Business Solutions in association with India Bullion and Jewellers Association (IBJA). Suresh Prabhu, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry and Civil Aviation, in his message said India has huge resources, market infrastructure and potential to become the export hub for gold and gold products.
Senthil Nathan S IRS, deputy secretary, Ministry of Commerce, inaugurated the conference. ‘With craftsmanship, technology and design capabilities in hand, our country needs to capitalise its intrinsic capability to manufacture value-added gold jewellery for the global market,” Nathan said. “The new policies are chiefly aimed at building the institutional, regulatory and market infrastructure to streamline the industry, bring transparency and increase the global acceptance of gold and its products from India. Good delivery norms, responsible sourcing guidance and compulsory hallmarking are also being proposed to protect consumer interest,” he added.
G Srivastava, president, Fortell Business Solutions Pvt Ltd; Mohit Kamboj, National president, IBJA; Pramod Agrawal, chairman, GJEPC; Arjun Raychaudhuri, Managing Director and CEO, MMTC PAMP; P R Somasundaram, Managing Director-India, World Gold Council; Mrugank Paranjape, Managing Director and CEO, MCX spoke in the inaugural session. John Reade, Chief Market Strategist, World Gold Council, Dr Rathin Roy, director, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, and Arvind Sahay, chairperson, India gold policy Centre, delivered the keynote address.
Online gold sales moving at a snail’s pace
Kochi: The bullion market too is taking the online route to keep up with the times. Even though only 5 per cent of sales happen online, those in the industry believe sales will take a leap in the near future. According to Rajesh Khosla, chairman emeritus, MMTC-PAMP India Pvt Ltd, at present, the online sales show only a 1 per cent increase annually. “But we know this sluggish movement will build up in the future thanks to the smartphone-savvy generation. The graph that is at present showing a flat line will peak in the coming years,” he said. The gold council is revamping the delivery system, said P R Somasundaram, managing director, World Gold Council (India).