New Delhi, May 14 -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi's nudge to resist gold purchases has been followed up with a policy disincentive. On Wednesday, the Centre more than doubled import duty on the precious metal to an effective rate of 15% from 6%.

The objective is to deter local buyers by making gold more expensive, so that imports reduce and ease pressure on India's balance of payments, burdened as it is by a war-inflated oil bill.

After crude, gold is India's second largest import by value; fiscal 2025-26 saw over 721 tonnes of it shipped in. Although this was a 5% dip in weight, a price upshoot spelt a 24% spike in our forex outgo-to almost $72 billion.

No wonder the government wants to curtail shipments, an aim that weak capital infl...