New Delhi, May 5: With the coronavirus lockdown on place in India for over 40 days and further extended till May 17, reports arrived that India's gold imports took a nosedive by 99.9 percent in April 2020 on a year-on-year basis. This is considered to be the lowest figures in last three decades.

According to a report, published in the global news agency Reuters, the country jewellery sector imported only 50 kilograms of gold in April 2020, which was in 110.18 tonnes in April 2019. It can be noted that the depreciation in the gold imports took place due to the nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus. Also, air travel was banned and jewellery shops were closed. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das Says Banks Can Decide on Offering 3-Month Moratorium to NBFCs.

As per an estimate, the value of gold imports that dropped in April 2020 is said to USD 2.84 million from to USD 3.97 billion in April 2019. By mid-April 2020, Union Commerce Ministry data had revealed that gold imports fell 14.23 percent to USD 28.2 billion during the 2019-20. The government had further said that the imports had declined and stood at USD 32.91 billion in 2018-19.

Reports claim India imports 800-900 tonnes of gold annually, and is the largest importer of gold worldwide, Following the decline in imports, the Union government had recently increased the import duty on the yellow metal to 12.5 percent from 10 percent. While, gems ans jewellery exporters have sought the government to reduce import duty to 4 percent.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 05, 2020 04:33 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).