Why do Indians buy so much gold?

India is the largest buyer of gold in the world. Roughly 700 tonnes or about 33% of the total gold mined in the world is consumed in India. That makes India the largest trader of gold.

The fundamental reasons for buying gold jewellery are rooted in Indian culture especially during weddings. Lot of modification has happened to our traditions but gold purchase on the occasion of wedding has not changed much. Though the newer generation is not too fond of wearing or flaunting gold jewellery, the demand for gold jewellery has not gone down. We end up buying 950 tonnes of gold every year.

Why should the government worry when we are actually saving and creating wealth as we buy gold?

 At the individual level, it seems to be highly beneficial in buying gold but there are serious consequences at the national level.  For us to understand this we need to get into a bit of detailing. The top five producersof gold in the world are China, USA, Australia, South Africa and Russian Federation.  India does not produce much of the gold consumed. That means we need to buy gold from these countries. Gold nearly constitutes 12% of the total imports and comes only next to crude and capital good. This causes problems in forex and you wonder what the problem is. When we import gold we need to pay in foreign exchange and we roughly require USD 60 billion worth of dollars. This directly affects the value of rupee negatively and thus creating further gold prices raises especially petrol and diesel. Another reason why gold may not be great to the economy is its unproductive nature. Gold does nothing but remain idle in safes or bank vaults. Other financial instruments like fixed deposits, investment policies, shares, bonds etc is a great source of productive funds for corporate and government bodies, creating positive impact on the economy. This is making the government skittish. Government wants to discourage import of gold and hence have recently hiked the import duty. We believe this might not create too much impact on the demand as people might absorb the price rise and may even end up assuming to have created wealth. Increase in import duty may encourage smuggling and black economy. If the finance minister openly declares that the import duty will be brought down at a particular date, then the investors may refrain from investing in gold till that period. 

Indian Gold Coin

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched three programmes aimed at reducing physical gold demand and attracting tonnes of gold from households into the banking system.

The three schemes that Modi introduced are Gold Monetisation Scheme (GMS), Gold Sovereign Bond Scheme and the Gold Coin and Bullion Scheme. Modi also unveiled the first ever national gold coin minted in India with the national emblem of Ashok Chakra engraved on it.

The Gold Monetisation Scheme will replace the existing Gold Deposit Scheme, 1999. However, deposits outstanding under the Gold DepositScheme will be allowed to run till maturity unless the depositors prematurely withdraw them.

The Gold Monetisation Scheme is aimed at tapping part of an estimated 20,000 tonnes of idle gold worth Rs. 5,40,000 crore in family lockers and temples into the banking system.

The Gold Sovereign Bond will be issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on behalf of the government with an interest rate of 2.75%. The bonds will be sold through banks and designated post offices.

Describing the schemes as “sone pe suhaga” (icing on the cake), Modi said gold has often been a source of women’s empowerment in the Indian society, and these schemes will underscore that sense of empowerment.

“Women in India usually don’t own house or a car in their name, but gold is a matter of their strength. India has 20,000 tonnes of idle gold. It is an important aspect of women empowerment,” Modi said while speaking at the launch, “people should take advantage of the golden opportunity to help India march to a golden period.”

The Prime Minister said there is no reason for a country with so much gold lying idle to remain poor. With some efforts and right policies India can get rid of this tag (of a poor nation), he said. Recalling India's tradition of saving and culture of empowering women with gold, he said in a lighter vein that even the Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan will have to recognise the difference between "arthashastra (economics) and grahshastra (home economics)". 

Ice Cream Treats To Make At Home This Summer

Whether you’re always craving for something cold and yummy after a tiring day at work or preparing for your next house party these instant ice cream recipes will make you rethink your store-bought ice cream. All you need is a mixer and some creative skills to make these incredibly delicious frozen treats.

Carrot cake ice cream
A two ingredient treat you just won’t get enough of.

Ingredients
-          2 cups heavy whipping cream

-          1 can sweetened condensed milk

-          1 teaspoon vanilla

-          1 teaspoon cinnamon

-          1½ to 2 cups carrot cake crumbles and some for garnishing

-          ¼ cup golden raisins

Prepare
Using a stand mixer with the whisk attachment beat your cream until stiff and fold in the sweetened condensed milk. Add remaining ingredients and put in the freezer for 6 hours.

Avocado Ice Cream
Healthy and delicious, this is best to eat your way to glowing skin.

Ingredients
-          5 avocados

-           2 cups heavy whipping cream

-          1½ to 2 cups condensed milk

Prepare
Beat whip cream until stiff. Smash the avocados and stir them in to the condensed milk and fold the whipped cream in. Put in the freezer until solid.

Spicy chocolate ice cream
The perfect choice for couples, try this for a romantic night.

Ingredients
-          2 ½ cups chilli & lime dark chocolate bar

-          Half can sweetened condensed milk

-          1/2 tsp vanilla

-          2 tbsp whipping cream

-          1 cup whipping cream

Prepare
Melt the chilli and lime dark chocolate bar and allow it to cool slightly. Whip the cream until peaks hold. Mix the melted chocolate, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla. Add 2 tablespoons of whipping cream to thin the mixture. Gently fold chocolate mixture into the whipped cream. Place in freezer for 8 hours.

Peanut Butter Brownie Batter Swirl Ice Cream
Who can resist peanut butter and brownie!

Ingredients
-          1 1/4 cup dry brownie mix

-          2 tbsp. oil

-          4 tbsp. water

-          2 cups heavy whipped cream

-          1 can sweetened condensed milk

-          1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

-          1/2 cup chopped mini Reeses peanut butter cups

Prepare
Stir brownie mix, oil and water. Beat the whipped cream into the mixture. Stir condensed milk and peanut butter until creamy and pour into the whipped cream and beat. Pour 1/3 of the cream mixture into a freezer safe container. Drop 1/3 of the brownie batter in the mixture and swirl gently with a knife. Repeat twice. Freeze until solid.

Why Vitamin B Is So Vital For Women?

We’ve heard it several times right—The B group of Vitamins are absolutely necessary for the body. But have you actually deciphered why our doctors can’t stop stressing on the intake of this nutrient? Here’s why they’re so important for the body.

Vitamin B1

Also called thiamine, Vitamin B1 acts as a co-enzyme in oxidising sugar in order to produce energy for the proper functioning of the body organs. It also helps improve brain function by improving memory and concentration. The best thing is that it will de-stress you by calming your nerves.

Where to get it: Sunflower seeds, barley and green peas are known to be rich in Vitamin B1.

Vitamin B5

This vitamin is essential for the formation of fats, carbohydrates and amino acids while also stimulating adrenal hormones. A deficiency of vitamin B5 limits fat metabolism. This is when the excess fats are pushed through the skin as sebum, which is a catalyst for acne, which essentially means that if you’re looking for healthy skin (and who isn’t?) you should get your daily dose of this vitamin.

Where to find it:  Broccoli, avocados and potatoes.

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Homemade Hair Packs for Monsoon!

While the monsoon brings with it a fair share of romance, chances are your hair isn’t taking too well to the rains after all! It is only fair that you take some extra care of your tresses and pamper them with some extra love. And it is not even too much hassle with a few easy-peasy home packs. Here’s how...

For damage free hair
For unruly hair that is unhealthy and damaged this pack comes in handy to do some damage control. Mix in curd, lemon and mustard oil to make a hair pack and let it dry, then wash off with water. Now heat some hibiscus leaves in water and bring to boil. Squeeze a lemon into it and apply it onto your hair. Leave it for around 20 minutes and again wash it off with a mild shampoo.

For an oil free scalp
For a clean, oil free scalp mix in two egg yolks, an egg white, lemon juice and a few drops of honey. Generously apply it onto your hair, let dry and wash off with a deep cleansing shampoo. This should leave your scalp oil free and hair supple.

For straight and frizz free hair
Mix in equal quantities of vinegar and honey in a cup of hot water and let it stand still for a few minutes. Then apply it onto your hair, leave it on for a few minutes and wash off with a mild shampoo. This should straighten out the monsoon frizz and deep condition your hair.

Read on for hair care tips 

My Gold Guide!!

Jewellery may be made from a wide range of materials. Gemstones and similar materials such as amber and coral, precious metals,beads, and shells have been widely used, and enamel has often been important. In most cultures jewellery can be understood as a status symbol, for its material properties, its patterns, or for meaningful symbols. Jewellery has been made to adorn nearly every body part, fromhairpins to toe rings. The patterns of wearing jewellery between the sexes, and by children and older people can vary greatly between cultures, but adult women have been the most consistent wearers of jewellery; in modern European culture the amount worn by adult males is relatively low compared with other cultures and other periods in European culture.

Modern fine jewellery usually includes gold, white gold, platinum, palladium, titanium, or silver. Most contemporary gold jewellery is made of an alloy of gold, the purity of which is stated in karats, indicated by a number followed by the letter K. American gold jewellery must be of at least 10K purity (41.7% pure gold), (though in the UK the number is 9K (37.5% pure gold) and is typically found up to 18K (75% pure gold). Higher purity levels are less common with alloys at 22 K (91.6% pure gold), and 24 K (99.9% pure gold) being considered too soft for jewellery use in America and Europe. 

MyGoldGuide

My Gold Guide

The gems and jewellery industry plays an important part in the Indian economy. In addition to boasting a large gems and jewellery market, India has a unique situation in terms of both demand and supply. The domestic gems and jewellery industry had a market size of INR 251,000 Cr in 2013, with a potential to grow to INR 500,000–530,000 Cr by 2018.

The demand in India can be segmented into consumption and investment. Unlike most other countries, investment demand for gold is important in India and accounts for about 45 percent of total market demand. Around 57 percent of the investment demand comes from bars and coins, while the rest comes from jewellery. The high investment demand is driven by a lack of alternative financial institutions for a large section of society, a perceived capacity to hedge against inflation, ability to invest smaller value in gold, high returns in gold over the past 12 years and ease of investing unaccounted money in gold. Also, while the volume demand for gold as jewellery has remained more or less constant over 2005 to 2013, the volume demand for gold bars and coins have grown at a CAGR of around 13 percent in the same period.