If gold is considered as a symbol of prosperity and good fortune, then definitely Indians are prosperous. If the entire gold holdings in the country is sold off, each Indian citizen will get over Rs 37,000 at the current price level of Rs 25,000 per 10 grams.
After the sizzling rally in gold rate in the last two years, the total value of the gold holdings in India estimated at around 18,000 tonnes has zoomed to around Rs 45,00,000 crore ($1 trillion). For 121-crore strong Indian population, this works out to around Rs 1.5 lakh per household of four members. This is also equivalent to around 71 per cent of Indias market capitalisation of listed shares and 66 per cent of total GDP.
According to the World Gold Council, Indians hold the largest stock of gold in the world 18,000 tonnes of which is held by Indian households. It is estimated that 7 per cent of Indias $256 billion in total household savings is currently held in gold, WGC says. And demand is increasing. Nearly 50 per cent of the population is under 25 and there will be approximately 15 million weddings per annum over the next decade. Gold will continue to form an integral part of weddings. This will drive approximately 500 tonnes (Rs 1 trillion at the prevailing gold price and exchange rate) of new gold demand per annum, together with a further 500 tonnes of existing gold being gifted by one family to the next, WGC says.