Goa, May 13 -- Aman Verma

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal urging citizens to avoid unnecessary gold pur chases for a year in order to protect India's foreign exchange reserves has triggered concern within Goa's jewellery industry, with traders warning that any prolonged slowdown could hit not only busi nesses but also thousands of livelihoods linked to the sector. While jewellers backed the government's broader economic concerns amid rising global uncertainty and pressure on foreign exchange reserves, many said gold in India cannot be viewed merely as a luxury commodity or investment instrument. The Prime Minister's re marks come at a time when soaring international gold prices and geopolitical ten sions have already weak ened cust...