Sanctions on gold import are negatively impacting the jewellery and gem industry, according to India’s Commerce and Industry Ministry. Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitaraman told Press Trust of India (PTI) that the gold sanctions have led to gold being illegally imported into the country. “As a Commerce Minister, I would want the gold restrictions to go away because gems and jewellery industry have been worried that a sector which is potentially so powerful is suffering because of the gold import policy,” she told PTI. Cases of gold smuggling in 2013 and 2014 have tripled in numbers with 2,441 cases reported. From 2012 to 2013, the number of cases reported was a mere 869.
