New Delhi, February 23 Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday attributed the rising gold prices to heavy purchases by central banks globally, and said the government and RBI are closely monitoring the imports of precious metals, although they are not at an "alarming proportion".
During April-December last year, India's gold imports in value terms increased by about USD 1 billion annually to USD 50 billion.
However, in January this year, there has been a sudden spurt in both the value and volume of gold imports, and the RBI is analyzing the figures, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said.
Sitharaman said that gold has always been a favored investment for households, whether as an asset class or for jewelry, and to meet domestic requirements, India is a net importer of gold.
"We are watching it, but I'm not sure it has reached such alarming proportions, given the tendency ... in India, for investing in and buying gold. And therefore, I think it has not gone beyond that limit, but of course, the RBI will also be monitoring it," the minister said.
Speaking to reporters after addressing the RBI board, Sitharaman said that gold demand in India for domestic consumption has traditionally spiked during the festival season, Akshaya Tritiya, and so on. In addition, the central banks of most countries today are buying gold and silver and storing them.
Malhotra said that during April-December 2025, the increase in prices was offset more or less by the decrease in the volumes of imported golds.
"It's only in January that we are still analyzing those numbers, that there has been a sudden spurt in value as well as in volume, as the finance minister also mentioned, there is a lot of fluctuation and seasonality in that particular demand," Malhotra said.
The governor said the RBI is "not unduly concerned" about it, especially because India's external sector continues to be very robust and strong.
"The current account deficit is still very, very manageable, as per our projections, it's within or about the 1 per cent of GDP range," Malhotra said.
Earlier in the day, the finance minister addressed the 621st meeting of the Central Board of Directors of the Reserve Bank of India here under the Chairmanship of Sanjay Malhotra.
The board assessed the global and domestic economic landscape, factoring in the challenges arising from geopolitical developments and financial market volatility.
Sitharaman addressed and interacted with the directors of the Central Board after the board meeting.
The Finance Minister articulated the strategic vision of the Union Budget 2026-27, which was inspired by the three Kartavyas, and delineated expectations from the financial sector toward achieving its goal of Viksit Bharat.
The directors expressed their appreciation for the Budget and shared their perspectives.
She was accompanied by Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management Secretary Arunish Chawla, Department of Expenditure Secretary V Vualnam, Department of Revenue Secretary Arvind Shrivastava, and Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran.
Deputy Governors T Rabi Sankar, Swaminathan J., Poonam Gupta, Shirish Chandra Murmu and other Directors of the Central Board - Department of Financial Services Secretary Nagaraju Maddirala, Department of Economic Affairs Secretary Anuradha Thakur were also present.
Other directors who attended the meeting were Satish K. Marathe, S Gurumurthy, Revathy Iyer, Sachin Chaturvedi, Venu Srinivasan, Pankaj Ramanbhai Patel and Ravindra H. Dholakia.
