Indian households held close to 25,000 tonne of gold in 2019, according to a World Gold Council (WGC) report.
The value of all that gold was $1.1 trillion at prevailing prices, equivalent to a mind-boggling 40% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) at that point.
This underlines the importance accorded to gold by Indian households since time immemorial and makes them the largest holder of the precious metal physically in the world.
In addition, today, investors also have a choice of various non-physical channels to invest in the yellow metal.
Against this backdrop, as part its 'Meet the Expert', CRISIL is featuring a discussion with John Reade, Market Strategist, Europe and Asia, World Gold Council, on use of the precious metal in strategic asset allocation.
The key areas of discussion would be
Performance trends of the yellow metal
Gold in times of various crises
Product options available globally to invest in gold
Product options available in India (exchange traded funds, fund of funds, etc) and electronic gold receipts (in near future)
