Rural India’s faith in gold

India is a vast country with nearly 60% of its population based in its rural areas. While urban India has progressed in terms of jobs, facilities and lifestyle, rural India is gradually picking up the pace. Earlier, the financial reputation of a family was gauged by the amount of gold they were seen to have. On occasions such as marriages and festivals, the woman displayed their family’s wealth through their ornaments, and gold has always been the strongest way to do this.

Gold is considered to be one of the most liquid assets a person can have. It is easy to convert gold to cash and hence, its resale value is also comparatively higher that other investments. Therefore, villagers, during a crisis, find pawning a gold item in return for cash much easier than going to the bank.

According to the World Gold Council, the rural population is responsible for nearly two-thirds of all gold purchases in India. This fixation with gold is due to the belief that a piece of jewellery / gold will stay with the owner for a longer period of time.

In the Southern states of India such as Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, the average bride wears more than 300 grams of gold on her wedding day. The family starts stocking up on jewellery purchases ever since the birth of a daughter. Apart from marriages, auspicious occasions and festivals, rural India buys most of its gold at the end of harvest season. The rural India opines that gold can be used for marriages and is a liquid asset as well.

Gold is not only a metal for adornment but also to retain savings for the future. Its glitter has always attracted the eyes of the consumer and especially so in rural India. The pace is believed to continue its upward trajectory across our gold-loving country.