India, May 15 -- India's recurring gold crises are not merely a function of consumer obsession with the yellow metal. They are fundamentally a policy failure. For decades, policymakers have attempted to curb gold imports through higher duties and restrictions, yet Indian households continue to accumulate physical gold because the financial system has failed to offer a credible, low-cost digital alternative. If India truly wants to reduce pressure on imports and the current account deficit, the answer lies not in penalising gold ownership, but in transforming how gold is held.

The first reform should be radical but simple: make demat holding charges on digital gold and sovereign gold instruments effectively zero, much like UPI made digita...