Avoid buying gold… Know in which governments this appeal was made to the public before PM Modi

For the second time within 24 hours, Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to the public to reduce the purchase of gold, limit the use of fertilizers and promote ‘Vocal for Local’. This is not the first time that the Indian government has appealed to the people to reduce the purchase of gold. From time to time, to maintain economic stability and save foreign exchange reserves, the government has appealed to the public not to buy gold or to buy less.

PM Modi appealed not to buy gold

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Had appealed to the citizens in Hyderabad on Sunday (10 May 2026) to strengthen the country’s economy by bringing changes in their daily habits. He urged people to avoid non-essential gold purchases for a year. Also, he stressed on the moderate use of petrol and diesel and said that saving oil will strengthen the economic condition of the country. PM Modi gave many suggestions to reduce fuel consumption. He said that wherever possible, use metro and public transport. Adopt car-pooling when using personal vehicles.

Minister Chidambaram in UPA government had appealed

In the year 2013, when P. Chidambaram was the Union Finance Minister in the UPA government, he had appealed to the people of India not to buy gold. He had then said that due to continuous import of gold, the country’s current account deficit is increasing and the rupee is weakening. Chidambaram had said, ‘Those who want to buy gold should understand that every bit of the precious metal is imported and gold is not produced in India. You pay rupees, we have to pay dollars. You think you buy gold in rupees, but actually you buy gold in dollars. I once again appeal to everyone to please avoid buying gold.

He had said, ‘If the people of India do not import gold for a year, the entire situation will change tremendously. If we stop purchasing gold for six months or one year, the situation of CAD will improve tremendously. The then government had increased the import duty on gold to 10 percent.

After the India-China war of 1962–1963

After the 1962 war, the crisis on India’s economy and foreign exchange reserves deepened. The then Finance Minister Morarji Desai had made strict rules to limit the purchase of gold. The then government had brought Gold Control Rules (1963), the objective of which was to stop smuggling of gold in the country and to save foreign exchange reserves. In the year 1963, the government had banned the making of gold jewelery with purity more than 14 carats, so that the consumption of gold could be reduced. In the year 1968, this Act was further tightened, under which it became illegal for citizens to possess gold bars or coins.

During the India-Pakistan war, in 1965, the then Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri had appealed to the people to deposit their gold with the government to strengthen the economic condition of the country and to meet the needs of the war. For this, the government had come up with schemes like ‘National Defense Gold Bond’, under which people were encouraged to deposit their gold with the government.

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