New Delhi, May 1 -- Last month, France did something that would have been unimaginable a few years ago; certainly before the outbreak of the Ukraine war, when US-led sanctions cut Russia off from the Swift payment system, the main messaging network that enables secure international financial transactions, and froze more than $300 billion of its assets.

Its central bank, the Bank of France, pulled out its remaining gold reserves held in New York.

Admittedly, no central bank today relies on gold to back its currency. But gold reserves still serve as a safe haven during global trade uncertainties and are an essential component of national wealth as well as financial security. They are often used as a hedging tool against inflation and curr...