New Delhi, Sep 9: Asking Indians to step away from the jewellery counter ahead of the festival season carries political risks. Gold in India is more than a commodity. It is a form of savings, an intergenerational asset and a deeply entrenched cultural tradition. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s public plea to avoid unnecessary gold purchases puts concern about the import bill up against long-standing buying habits and the interests of the domestic jewellery trade.

The electoral calendar adds a political dimension. Next year, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab head to the polls. The domestic gold trade includes merchant communities that have traditionally formed part of the BJP’s support base.

A sustained decline in gold buying could depress jewellery sales and unsettle sections of that constituency ahead of these elections. The appeal suggests a willingness to deliver an uncomfortable economic message, although its political cost will depend on whether consumers respond and how the trade is affected.

The economic concern is the rising bullion import bill amid wars and global uncertainty. Higher international gold prices have increased the cost of meeting Indian demand, even as import volumes have declined. According to data reported by The Economic Times, India’s gold imports rose more than 24 per cent to an all-time high of $71.98 billion in 2025–26. This occurred even as the volume imported fell nearly 4.8 per cent to roughly 721 tonnes.

India bought less physical gold but paid a substantially higher dollar bill. Gold imports add to the demand for foreign exchange. A surge in festive buying can therefore widen the trade deficit and, depending on other external flows, add to pressure on the rupee.

However, framing PM Modi’s appeal purely as a response to global gold prices offers incomplete context. It also draws attention to the government’s limited progress in reducing dependence on imported crude oil. Earlier ambitions to bring down that dependence have proved difficult to realise.

With limited scope to curb essential oil imports without affecting economic activity, discretionary imports become a more accessible target. Gold is an obvious candidate, although restraining purchases would not resolve the underlying dependence on imported energy.

Nor is all gold buying simply consumption that households can readily postpone. For many buyers, it is also a means of saving and providing financial security. That complicates the attempt to influence demand through an appeal for restraint.

Reducing gold imports requires more than a Prime Ministerial plea. It also requires more effective ways to bring existing domestic holdings into circulation and offer alternatives to those buying gold primarily as an investment. Indian households and religious institutions are estimated to hold 20,000 25,000 tonnes of physical gold. This represents substantial wealth, but much of it remains outside formal financial channels. Efforts to mobilise it have met with limited success.

The Gold Monetisation Scheme struggled to attract household gold, partly because families are reluctant to melt down ancestral jewellery in return for interest. Sovereign Gold Bonds offered an alternative for investors seeking exposure to gold prices, but could not substitute for jewellery bought to wear, gift or pass on.

The distinction matters. A gold-linked financial investment and a family heirloom serve different purposes. The difficulty is not simply that policy has failed to turn physical gold into a financial asset. It is that financial products cannot fully replace the cultural and practical uses of jewellery.

Without addressing those differences, efforts to shift demand away from physical gold will have limits.

There are precedents for PM Modi taking decisions that unsettled established interests, including sections of his own support base. But comparisons between the gold appeal and structural reforms need care.

As Chief Minister of Gujarat, he implemented the Jyotigram Yojana, which separated agricultural power feeders from those supplying other rural consumers. The programme faced resistance from sections of the farming community but changed how rural electricity was supplied.

As Prime Minister, his government introduced the Goods and Services Tax, seeking to create a unified national market. The transition brought significant adjustment and compliance costs, particularly for smaller businesses and traders, including communities traditionally associated with the BJP.

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code similarly challenged the position of established business promoters. It provided creditors with a framework to resolve defaulting companies, potentially displacing existing owners. Its implementation has also exposed shortcomings requiring further reform.

These measures changed institutions, rules and incentives. An appeal to avoid gold purchases relies instead on voluntary restraint. It may reflect a willingness to challenge established preferences, but it is not equivalent to a change in taxation, credit rules or the organisation of an essential service.

Its economic effect will depend on whether households alter their buying decisions. The intention to ease external pressures is clear; the scale and durability of the response are not.

Demonetisation in 2016, ahead of the following year’s Uttar Pradesh election, provides another example of a disruptive intervention before a major political contest. It does not, however, establish that taking an electoral risk necessarily produces economic gains.

The gold appeal is also materially different. Rather than imposing a sudden policy change, PM Modi is asking consumers to give greater weight to the national economic cost of their purchases. Whether that argument outweighs considerations of tradition, savings and expected returns remains uncertain.

The immediate gamble is that some households will defer buying without a wider backlash from the jewellery trade. Even then, postponed purchases may return later, limiting the lasting effect on imports.

PM Modi’s intervention brings the foreign-exchange cost of gold into the public debate. But the test is not the boldness of the appeal. It is whether the appeal changes demand, and whether policy can provide credible savings alternatives and make better use of gold already held in India. Political gains, should they follow, would be a separate outcome.

(Rakesh Khar is a seasoned editor. He writes at the intersection of politics, business, technology and society. Views expressed are personal)

New Delhi, Sep 9: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has secured the conviction of two drug traffickers in connection with the seizure of 1,127 kg of Ganja in Maharashtra, in a major success in its efforts to combat drug trafficking and further the vision of a ‘Drug-Free India’.

The Additional Sessions Judge, Special NDPS Court, Biloli, Nanded, Maharashtra, on September 8, convicted two accused persons, Gokul Narayan Rajput and Sunil Yadav Mahajan, in connection with the seizure made by the NCB Mumbai Zonal Unit.

The case pertains to the interception of a truck bearing registration number MH-26-AD-2165 on November 15, 2021, near Manjram village in Naigaon taluka of Nanded district, Maharashtra. During a search of the vehicle, NCB officers recovered 49 bags containing 1,127 kg of Ganja. The contraband, along with the truck and other articles, was seized in accordance with the law.

Rajput, the driver of the truck, and Mahajan, the co-driver, were arrested in connection with the case. The prosecution established before the court that both accused were in conscious possession of a commercial quantity of Ganja and had failed to provide a satisfactory explanation for their possession.

After examining the evidence and material on record, the court held that the prosecution had proved the offence beyond reasonable doubt under Section 20(b)(ii)(C) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.

The court subsequently convicted both accused and sentenced each of them to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) and imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh. In case of default in payment of the fine, each accused will undergo an additional six months of rigorous imprisonment.

The court also ordered the confiscation of the truck and other relevant seized articles in accordance with the provisions of the NDPS Act, subject to the statutory process.

The conviction underscores the NCB’s commitment to effective investigation and prosecution of drug trafficking cases and its resolve to dismantle drug trafficking networks, thereby contributing to the vision of a ‘Drug-Free India’.

The NCB has also appealed to citizens to support its fight against drug trafficking. Information related to the sale, trafficking or distribution of narcotic drugs can be shared by calling the MANAS-National Narcotics Helpline toll-free number, 1933. The identity of the informer will be kept confidential.

New Delhi, Sep 8: Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said on Tuesday that the civic agency will demolish a dilapidated building next to the site of the ill-fated paying guest (PG) building that collapsed in Satya Niketan killing seven people two days ago.

Sharing information about the plan to pull down the unsafe structure, the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) on social media platform X on Tuesday said, “On the instructions of Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has been directed to demolish the dilapidated building adjoining the accident site in the interest of public safety.”

“The belongings of students inside the building are being safely removed by Delhi Fire Service personnel in a systematic manner. All students and local residents are requested to cooperate with the authorities,” the CMO added.

The demolition order comes in the backdrop of the strict action of suspending five civic officials responsible for checking illegal construction in the colony located close to Delhi University’s South Campus in Dhaula Kuan.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Chief Minister visited AIIMS and met students injured in the Satya Niketan building collapse.

During the visit, CM Gupta inquired about their treatment and reassured their family members of full help from the government and doctors.

“The government will bear the full cost of treatment for all the students injured in the accident and will provide them every possible assistance,” CM Gupta said on social media platform X.

In another development, the Delhi Police dismissed claims that mobile phone jammers were installed to restrict communication during the rescue operation at the building collapse site in Satya Niketan.

Issuing a fact check, the police said, “Rumours of mobile jammers at the Satya Niketan rescue site are completely false.”

“Networks are fully operational. Delhi Police, NDRF, and Fire teams are coordinating seamlessly via mobile. Media and citizens are broadcasting live from the site with no disruption,” the police said in a statement.

“Do not spread engagement-driven misinformation. Rely on verified official updates only,” Delhi Police said.

The five-storey building, known as ‘Hostel Daze’, was operating as a boys’ PG, and several students were staying there when the incident took place around 1:30 p.m. on Sunday in which seven people were killed, the police added.

Portions of an adjacent building also collapsed, according to eyewitnesses, adding to concerns over the safety and structural condition of buildings in the area.

Three members of the family associated with the PG building have been arrested.