Modi’s cash ban succeeds in lowering gold imports

MUMBAI: It seems the only way to stop Indians from buying more gold is to take their money away.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government spent 16 months trying to persuade Indians to deposit their jewellery in the bank to earn interest, in an effort to curb soaring imports of the precious metal. But the programme has only lured a tiny fraction of the US$900bil of gold that families and temples are estimated to have stashed away.