Gold is Gold. No currency on earth can substitute to the universal acceptance of Gold for trade or for any other valuable reasons. Many countries deposit part of their gold reserves with banks in Western countries for various reasons. Some countries have an imperialistic attitude. Due to this attitude, some of the Western countries, especially the USA, induce many countries to obey their orders with their financial supremacy.
The Western countries can and may freeze the assets of other countries for one reason or the other. The hidden agenda for this strategy is to make other countries financially dependent on Western countries. In the present era, the power of the American Dollar is better felt than explained. Practically, the American Dollar has universal acceptability. This forces many countries to depend on American Dollars for their international business.
It is a fact that the circumstances decide several things. The change in circumstances with the passage of time is inevitable. India is taking the initiative to convince at least some of the like-minded countries to trade in local currency. Slowly but steadily, some countries realised the value of reducing their dependence on the American dollar and started supporting this policy. It reduces the pressure of dependence on American Dollars for international trade. If the trend continues, there is a possibility for the Indian Rupee to increase its credibility in international trade. Naturally, this strategy irritated countries like America. The independent foreign policy of India added insult to injury for America and for some of the European countries.
India realised the consequences. Silently but systematically started withdrawing our tons of gold reserves preserved in foreign banks. Even today, tons of our Gold are preserved in the banks of foreign countries. We may not withdraw our entire reserves for tactical reasons for an advantage in international trade. In addition to partial withdrawal of Gold preserved in foreign banks, India is buying gold in considerable volume from different countries at a reasonable price. In all probability, we aim to increase our gold reserves to approximately 1000 tons. This strategy surprised many countries.
There are many advantages to this strategy. The important advantage is that, in spite of wars between different countries in the world or changes in the policies of any country, Indian trade can take place smoothly and probably in favour of India. If not, at least it can be a win-win situation for the trading partners. Added to this, India is a country with a large population, and a considerable number of Indians have reasonable amounts of purchasing power. India is one of the largest producers of agricultural products. All these factors make a favourable nation to trade with for any country. Hence, no country on earth can afford to avoid India for business purposes.
The increase in the reserves and overall economic growth helps all the citizens. But due to the frequent change in policies of some countries and limited employment opportunities in India, the financially poor and middle-class people face several challenges to save money for a rainy day in their lives and improve their financial status. Every individual aspires to achieve financial freedom in life. The government policies can act as a catalyst in facilitating these sections of citizens to achieve financial freedom. The media has the power to motivate the people to have a paradigm shift in their mindset from traditional methods of savings to better and safer methods of savings cum investments.
Generally, most Indians purchase gold in the form of ornaments for the following reasons:
Passion for gold ornaments, Emotional and sentimental attachments, Lack of sufficient financial literacy, to meet the expenses in situations of emergency like health issues, etc., Comparison in possession of gold ornaments with their peer groups and due to the Attractive marketing techniques of businessmen involved in the business of gold jewellery.
There are certain limitations for saving or investing the hard-earned money in the form of gold ornaments for the common man. They are a blockage of capital because the sentimental and emotional attachment will not permit to sale of the ornaments even in case of situations of emergencies in personal life. These consequences are to force them to mortgage and pay interest at the time of recovery of ornaments from individuals or from organisations. Even if the ornaments are sold instead of mortgaging the making charges and depreciation in the quantity of the old gold are a liability.
Earlier, the RBI introduced a wonderful scheme of Sovereign Gold Bonds. It was a boon for Indians, especially for middle-class people. They provide security to the capital and better returns than fixed deposits in nationalised banks. But, due to some reasons, there is a pause in this scheme.
There is a dire need for evolving policies and introducing innovative savings cum investment schemes for the benefit of the common man and also for all those concerned. These schemes facilitate reducing the pressure of importing of gold for the sake of ornaments, thereby saving valuable foreign exchange. In addition to the government policies, there should be a paradigm shift in the mindset of people, especially the financially poor and middle-class Indians.
The reintroduction of Sovereign gold bonds with better investor-friendly features can be by the amalgamation of health insurance and Life insurance. There can be an introduction of savings bonds for revitalising the rivers. The periodic interest paid on the bonds can be used as premium for group insurance for health and life insurance of the investors. There can be riders in the premium for an enhanced amount of insurance policies. These features certainly encourage the common man to invest their savings in these types of bonds. It is a fact that there are certain challenges to convince the common people with limited financial literacy to change their mindset for investing in these types of bonds.
It may be remembered that a few decades ago, family planning was not acceptable for many people. But, with the continuous efforts of the government and the media, the methods of family planning are now acceptable to many people.
The media can play a deciding role in motivating people to invest in safe and minimum guaranteed returns of the Government bonds. This type of investment saves common people from being victims of lucrative schemes of the cheaters. Cultivating the culture of thrift and investing in the government-sponsored financial instruments would be of great help to the common man and facilitate India to become “ATMANIRBHAR” at the earliest.
