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Getting tough on gold imports won't work, two former Indian central bankers say
From The Indian Express, New Delhi
Sunday, December 2, 2012
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/-being-tough-on-gold-imports-won-t-wor...
MUMBAI -- Two former governors of the Reserve Bank of India warned Saturday against taking tough measures to rein in gold imports -- a major reason for the persistently high current account deficit.
The chairman of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council, C. Rangarajan, said steps like banning gold imports would only push up its smuggling.
Rangarajan, who served as RBI governor, said there are already indications that illegal shipments of the precious metal have gone up in the last three months after the hike in the excise duty.
"That is an indication of how much gold is being smuggled in. I would say to some extent we should dissuade people from holding an asset that does not give a rate of return. However, you can't go beyond a particular point," Rangarajan said here at a function organised by the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, an institution set up by the RBI.
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Former governor Y.V. Reddy said, "If Mercedes Benz and aftershave lotion can be imported, why not gold? It is both an investment and consumption good. Many people seem to mistake that it is only a hedge against inflation. There is a demand for it. It is being imported. If you can, try to stop it."
The RBI Governor D. Subbarao said the central bank is "concerned about gold as means of saving because it blocks off savings."
"We are concerned about gold ... lending against gold by non-bank finance companies because of financial stability concerns. We have been concerned about gold from an external management perspective because of the pressure it puts on the current account or the capital account depending on your account for it," Subbarao said.
On growth and inflation, Bimal Jalan, Rangarajan's successor and Reddy's predecessor, said, "There are periods when growth is more important and you take policy measures to boost it. There are periods when you have to control inflation because that is the dominant public issue. So there will be periods when you take measures, however harsh they are, to control inflation."
Reddy added household savings, which was an achievement until recently, is now the most critical challenge for the future. "The behavior of household savings indicates that they do not have faith in financial markets except banks. It is a bad sign."
Rangarajan said, "If what has happened in the three-year period of decline is reversed either because of a fiscal consolidation program or because of inflation coming down, it is possible to get back ... if not the 9-percent but the 8-percent rate of growth."
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Prophecy Platinum Intercepts Best Pt+Pd+Au Grades Yet
at Wellgreen Project in Yukon Territory: 5.36 g/t
Company Press Release
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Prophecy Platinum Corp. (TSX-V: NKL, OTC-QX: PNIKF, Frankfurt: P94P) announces more results of its 2012 drill program on the company's fully-owned Wellgreen platinum group metals, nickel, and copper project in southwestern Yukon Territory, Canada. Four surface holes and four underground holes all intercepted significant mineralized widths, ranging from 28.5 meters (WS12-201) and up to 459.5 metres (WS12-193). Highlights include WU12-540, which returned 8.9 metres of 5.36 grams per tonne platinum, palladium, and gold; 1.73 percent copper; and 1.01 percent nickel within 304.5 meters of 0.66 g/t platinum-palladium-gold, 0.20 percent copper, and 0.27 percent nickel.
The surface drill program started in June and has completed 16 holes (assays pending for 12 holes) with two rigs now on site. The surface program continues to progress at a steady pace.
Prophecy Chairman John Lee commented: “Wellgreen is a very large nickel, copper, and platinum group metals project with near-surface high-grade zones. High-grade intercepts will be incorporated into resource modeling and mine planning in the pre-feasibility study. We expect further positive drill results from Wellgreen shortly.”
Wellgreen features a low 2.59-to-1 strip ratio, is situated at an altitude of 1,300 meters, and is only 15 kilometers from the two-lane paved Alaska Highway. Those factors significantly minimize the project's indirect costs.
For the complete company statement with full tabulation of the drilling results, please visit:
http://prophecyplat.com/news_2012_sep11_prophecy_platinum_drill_results.php
