Cut duty on gold imports, PMK tells Centre

PMK, an ally of the BJP in Tamil Nadu, today appealed to the Centre to reduce the import duty on gold to help people buy jewellery during the coming festival season.
"The Centre should come forward to either scrap or reduce the import duty on gold considering the welfare of the poor and middle class people," founder-leader of PMK, S Ramadoss said here in a statement.
Since the festival season beckons, during which large number of weddings are solemnised, a cut in duty would help the common man, he said.
Stating that the import duty had not been reduced by the BJP after it assumed power, he urged that the measure be considered as it would help the public.

Gold smuggling to India has seen an increase owing to a "15-20 per cent" difference in the price of gold in Indian and global markets, he pointed out.