From being the biggest consumer of gold to now also becoming one of the biggest holders of the yellow metal, India has charted an interesting course
From being the biggest consumer of gold to now also becoming one of the biggest holders of the yellow metal, India has charted an interesting course. In 1991 India flew out a planeload of gold to borrow foreign exchange to ward off a payment crisis. Now, the Reserve Bank of India has bought 200 metric tonnes of gold from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to shore up its gold holdings besides diversifying its so far dollaru2013centric reserves.
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All that glitters...: The RBI has bought 200 metric tonnes of gold from the IMF to shore up its gold holdings. Representational pic |
But there is clearly more to Pranab Mukherjee's diversification strategy than to show off a confident Indian economy. Many believe that the purchase will give India increased leverage with the IMF, something the government has been pressing for since some time, besides stabilising the rupee. Moreover, by diversifying its reserve holdings, Pranab hopes to insulate the Indian economy from the fluctuating dollar. But those who expect local demand to grow (it was sluggish even through the festive season due to high prices) may have reason to cheer, though not immediately.
More than one for everyone
For reasons totally different from elsewhere, Dilli, along with Mumbai, and two other Indian metros, now have more mobile phone connections than residents. They surprisingly join the global league of cities with over 100 per cent mobile penetration such as London, New York, Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore. But in India multiple SIM cards per person is the real reason for this expression of excess.
Therefore, savvy local telecom players are already looking at rural markets for the next level of growth. They are working towards making rural people, youth and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) their key growth drivers, although all their revenues currently come from Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. But their dreams of rural penetration may hinge on how the next set of spectrum issue pan out.
Widely regarded as India's 'Image Guru', Dilip Cherian is a lobbyist, celebrity creator and tycoon watcher. He currently parties on a 24/7 schedule that mixes cities, nixes bores, and analyses Dilli
