Bhubaneswar: The festival of lights, sweets band joy, Deepavali, is a few days away. Along with the enormous thrill and excitement of the people, the price of the gold jewelry is also touching a new hight. Though it is not limited to just our country, the gold price has been skyrocketing allover the world. Last week, the gold price was 2780 dollar per ounce ( 28 gram) in the international market and in India, it was 80,000 rupees per gram gold, which is the highest as yet. The observers in this matter opine that the increasing gold price is an impact of an uncertain fear and anxiety in the future; that is the continuous Russia – Ukraine war and the crisis going on in the Middle East and the cold wars between the bigger economies. Due to such uncertainty, many organisations and people are anxious to safeguard their future by investing money in purchasing gold. Because as there has been a series of inflation in any other gold has become a safe investment. Therefore, it is obvious that the gold price is touching the unimaginable hight in the market and the demand is very high. The demand of gold in India is the most because of Deepavali and then followed by wedding seasons. During the festivals and weddings gold purchase is both a matter of excitement and coercion for Indians. Though there is no hesitation that gold is gradually getting away from the common Indians. But the question is whether the Indians are really resisting to buy it.
Though the retrieval and use of gold as a mine is very high and an ancient affair on the earth ( the history states that gold was being used the Harappa Civilizations and in Rig Ved it is mentioned about the use of gold was there in the Puranic periods as well). So the availability of gold is very less than the demand. India comes in the second position in the use of gold in the world but a major chunk of it is being imported. As per the study ofWorld Gold Council (WGC), there will be about 850 metric ton gold purchased by the Indians this year. Last year this figure was 750 metric ton. But this year there would be about 1. 38 ton available from the gold mines in India. It is understood that when the demands of gold in India and the increase of gold price in the international market are connected then the gold price will increase even more comparatively.
Because of the Indians, even though gold is becoming expensive day by day it is purchased by Indians from all sections, middle class, lower middle class etc due to various reasons, like some traditional and socio- cultural compulsions. So the gold merchants have come up with some attractive discount offers keeping the excessive hike in gold price in mind this year. In the last five years time the gold price has increased two times more but this could not stop the trading of gold in India especially. Rather the purchase of gold has increase with time. This is the strange tradition and culture of India.
It has been reported by a survey on gold purchase by Indian families, the people from rich family background buy more gold per head , but if seen overall the middle class and lower strata people also put the rich people behind in buying gold jewelry. According to this survey the people who earn more than 20 lakh annually purchase about 27 gram gold and the sections below the that average income standard purchase about 51.66 gram gold per annum. The people who earn from 5 lakh to 20 lakh buy about 25.13 gram gold annually. This survey the indicates that the middle class and lower middle class families purchase gold jewelry out of compulsions in order to retain the family and social traditions during the time of weddings, naming ceremonies, thread ceremonies etc. In the case of higher economic class, there are many other options like diamond, and other more expensive jwelleries to give during such events. That is the reason gold jewellery is the most important and in demand metal amongst the lower economic stratas. This is also true that during the time of crisis, gold plays like a savior for the lower economic stratas. But the irony is the gold which is so deeply connected with the life and emotions of Indian households is becoming highly expensive day by day. Whenever a middle class and lower middle class person goes to buy or mortgage gold jewellery it takes a full breath realising it’s heavy cost.
-OdishaAge
