India, April 18 -- Recent bullion policies reflect concerns about trade deficit, rupee

The two decisions yesterday, or rather an indecision and a super-quick decision, showed the best and worst of the bureaucracy. In the morning, an agency report rocked the bullion market, as it stated that tonnes of gold and silver were struck at the customs, and other places due to a lack of an official order. Within an hour or so of the news, a circular emerged that enabled the import trade, after a possible lag of more than two weeks. The delay seems inexplicable. The charitable explanation is mere oversight, or some delays in the red-tape process, which is usual. The conspiratorial theory is that it was a deliberate move to curb bullion imports to g...