Modi calls on Indians to put idle gold to good use to cut imports

New Delhi

PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday exhorted Indians to put thousands of tonnes of gold stacked away in households and temples into productive use, launching three programmes aimed at cutting massive imports of the metal.

This would trim physical demand and reduce imports by providing people with alternative avenues for investment. At an event in New Delhi, Mr Modi announced the formal start of a gold-deposit plan, a sovereign-bond programme linked to the metal's price and introduction of locally minted coins, some bearing the face of Mahatma Gandhi.