New Delhi, May 7 -- India's merchandise trade deficit was about $333 billion in 2025-26, 17.5% wider than the previous year's. Reducing import dependence is critical and gold stands out as a major item in this context. As the world's second-largest gold consumer, the country imported nearly 803 tonnes in 2024-25 but produced just 1.6 tonnes (0.2% of demand); last year's figures would be comparable.

Local production is conspicuously tiny, given our vast geological potential. We have over 700 documented ancient gold sites and host Archaean greenstone belts, comparable to the Australia's Yilgarn Craton, but have explored less than 10% of the obvious potential.

With global gold prices above $4,400 per ounce and global exploration spending a...