Gold Exchange Schemes: After PM Modi’s Appeal To Stop Buying Gold For A Year, Jewellers Offer Exchange Deals, Check Here

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged citizens to refrain from buying gold for a year to help reduce foreign exchange outflows and ease import pressure, focus has now turned to gold exchange schemes being offered by jewellers as an alternative to new purchases. While the initiative is viewed as a step to curb forex outflow—given that India is among the largest importers of gold—it also raises concerns over its impact on livelihoods and the wider industry. Hundreds of thousands of people across the country depend on the gold sector for their daily income and economic survival. (Image: Pexels)

In this scenario, gold exchange programmes are being promoted as a viable alternative that could help curb gold imports—seen as a major driver of forex outflow—while also keeping the industry operational and preventing large-scale job losses. (Image: Pexels)

According to MoneyControl, the central government has increased the import duty on gold from 6 percent to 15 percent, causing a sharp fall in prices in the market, Raghav Dhir, a representative of Dhirsons Jewellers in Lajpat Nagar, said that this development is having serious impact on the jewellery supply chain. He suggested that customers can easily get out of the burden of increasing rates by exchanging their old gold and buying new jewellery. (Image: Pexels)

Tanishq, a leading company in the gold industry has recently started a bumper campaign named #OldGoldNewIndia. It has announced that no matter where you buy gold, even if it is at least 9 carat quality, it will give you new jewellery in exchange for your old gold without any depreciation or cutting. (Image: Pexels)

Kalyan Jewellers has also launched a new programme called ‘Nation First – Gold4India’. This aims to deliver old gold exchange programmes, promote the adoption of lighter 18 carat (kt) jewellery, and gold monetisation schemes, and gold recirculation drive. As a part of the programme, customers at the form’s 342 stores will be encouraged to exchange old, unused, broken, or outdated jewellery thereby reducing the need for equivalent quantities of newly imported gold. (Image: Pexels)

With gold making up around 9–10% of India’s total import bill, the jewellery industry is increasingly aligning with the government’s broader goals by encouraging a shift away from new imports and toward recycling and monetising existing domestic gold holdings. (Image: Pexels)