Hunger, be it for anything, definitely spoils the health. A similar hunger was seen among the people of the country in the month of October. Due to which the country’s mathematics appeared to be deteriorating in the month of October. Which can also spoil the health of the country’s economy in the coming days. In fact, there was a record increase in gold imports in the month of October. Which took the country’s imports to a new high and the country’s fiscal deficit also increased at the speed of rocket. Which is also not good for the health of the country. But the surprising thing is that such hunger for gold has never been seen before, that too at a time when gold prices had reached lifetime highs. Let us also tell you what kind of news has come out regarding gold import.
Gold import increased 3 times, created a record
According to Commerce Ministry data, the country’s gold import increased almost three times in October to a record high of US $ 14.72 billion, mainly due to the increasing demand for festivals and weddings. Gold import in October 2024 stood at US $ 4.92 billion. Overall, imports increased by 21.44 percent to US $ 41.23 billion during April-October this financial year, from US $ 34 billion a year ago. Gold imports have pushed the country’s trade deficit (the difference between imports and exports) to a record high of US $ 41.68 billion in October. In the country’s capital Delhi, gold prices are hovering around Rs 1.29 lakh per 10 grams.
Where did you import the most gold from?
Commenting on the data, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Aggarwal said the increase in imports could be due to festival demand. Switzerland is the largest source of gold imports, accounting for about 40 per cent, followed by the United Arab Emirates (over 16 per cent) and South Africa (about 10 per cent). The contribution of this precious metal in the total imports of the country is more than 5 percent.
During this month, imports from Switzerland increased by 403.67 percent to US $ 5.08 billion. In April-October of this financial year, imports increased by 10.54 percent to US $ 15.4 billion. India is the second largest gold consumer in the world after China. Imports mainly cater to the demand of the jewelery industry. Last month, gems and jewelery exports declined by 29.5 percent year-on-year to US $ 2.3 billion.
How much was the current loss?
Due to service exports, India’s current account deficit (CAD) narrowed to 0.2 per cent of GDP or US$ 2.4 billion during the April-June period of 2025-26, compared to 0.9 per cent of GDP or US$ 8.6 billion in the same period a year ago. A current account deficit occurs when the value of goods and services and other payments imported by a country in a particular period exceeds the value of exported goods and services and other receipts.
Tremendous increase in silver imports also
When asked whether there was a possibility of double accounting of gold import data, Aggarwal replied in the negative. In January this year, the government revised gold import data to correct double accounting of inward shipments. This revision was made due to the abnormal increase in imports of the precious metal in November 2024. Silver import also increased by 528.71 percent to US $ 2.71 billion in October 2025. Silver has industrial applications. It is used in sectors like electronics, auto and pharma.