A member of PM Modi’s economic advisory team said India could have met its GDP objective earlier if it hadn’t imported gold. Indians imported $500 billion in gold during 21 years…
A member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s economic advisory team said India could have met a GDP target “long before” if it hadn’t imported gold. According to part-time Economic Advisory Council to the PM (EACPM) member and mutual fund industry veteran Nilesh Shah, Indians have spent USD 500 billion on gold imports in the last 21 years.
Kotak Asset Management’s MD and CEO remarked, “We aim to meet the PM’s $5 trillion GDP target. But avoiding this one behavior would have made us a $5 trillion economy long earlier. Not making the correct financial investment may have cost India one-third of its GDP.”
Shah stated that Indians have spent USD 375 billion on net gold imports in the last 21 years and that we regularly read about Customs’ gold seizures, proving that smuggling is widespread.
He added that many return from Dubai with gold jewelry and cross the Green Channel at the port of landing. “Imagine our GDP if we had invested in Tatas, Ambanis, Birlas, Wadia, and Adani instead of gold. He asked, “What would have been growth and per capita GDP?”
Conclusion
Without gold imports, India may have met its GDP target “long before”. Indian gold imports have cost USD 500 billion in 21 years. Nilesh Shah, an EACPM member, claimed India could have become a USD 5 trillion economy by avoiding this tendency. Shah highlighted official data showing Indians had net imported USD 375 billion in gold over the past 21 years. People return from Dubai carrying gold jewelry and successfully cross the Green Channel at the port of landing. Shah believed that investing in golden entrepreneurs like the Tatas, Ambanis, Birlas, Wadias, and Adani might have increased India’s GDP, growth, and per capita GDP.
