India’s finance ministry lifted import duties on gold and silver from 6% to 15%, a move aimed at stabilising a rupee that has slipped below 95.5 per dollar since the Iran conflict escalated. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier urged citizens to curb spending on fuel, foreign travel and gold, pressure points on the country’s widening trade deficit this year.

The duty hike arrives as India’s gold imports reached $72bn for the fiscal year to March 31, up nearly 25% year‑on‑year, while silver purchases jumped 150% to $12bn. With household gold holdings estimated at $3.8tn—about 90% of GDP—higher taxes are expected to shave roughly 10% off demand, according to bullion traders in the domestic market overall over the next quarter.

Equity of listed jewelers such as Kalyan Jewellers and Thangamayil Jewellery tumbled more than 5% on the news, while gold ETFs from ICICI Prudential and Nippon India surged above 4%. The higher tariff provides immediate fiscal relief but also risks inflating retail gold prices and spurring smuggling, tightening profit margins for India's bullion sector in the coming months overall now.