Modi Hails Growth Then Tells India to Skip Gold

Prime Minister Narendra Modi used a Tuesday video from Bishkek to tell Indians to skip leisure trips abroad, overseas weddings and gold they do not need. The same clip hailed a quarter in which real GDP grew 7.8 percent. That pairing is the policy, and it is also the problem.

Households already paid far more rupees for less metal after his May appeal. July’s gold bill then jumped again as jewellers restocked for the festive calendar. Repeating the sermon now asks a growing economy to starve the one import that still behaves like savings.

The Same Plea Comes From Bishkek Now

The message went out on Instagram while Modi was in Kyrgyzstan for the 26th SCO summit in Bishkek, a rare domestic ask filmed on a foreign trip. He congratulated “1.4 billion Indians,” said wars and broken supply chains had not stopped India, and then named three outflows he wants paused.

We should avoid traveling abroad merely for leisure or hosting weddings in foreign lands; instead, we should live by the mantra of ‘Weddings in India.’ We should also refrain from buying gold unless absolutely necessary.

Narendra Modi, Prime Minister, Instagram video from Bishkek

He tied the list to Swadeshi and to 100 years of independence, when he said a developed India should be handed to the young. The clip also swiped at what he called an “echo of lies” about the economy. Mallikarjun Kharge, the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, answered that sermons on gold and foreign travel showed “the ground reality” of joblessness, kitchen inflation and inequality.

The argument on the street is simpler than that exchange. A 7.8% print is being sold as a celebration in the same breath as a freeze on the treats that usually come with a boom. The summit itself was built around a terror and security agenda in Bishkek. The gold line was extra, and it is the line that travelled.

Gold’s Dollar Bill Rose Even as Tonnes Fell

India still buys almost all of its gold abroad, and it remains the world’s second-largest bullion buyer. World Gold Council figures for April-June show why a volume drop is not a forex win. Total demand fell 6% to 131.4 tonnes from 139.7 tonnes a year earlier. The rupee value of that demand rose 50% to Rs 1,98,100 crore from Rs 1,32,500 crore.

THE Q2 SPLIT, TONNES VERSUS RUPEES

Jewellery, the wedding metal, fell 15% to 75.1 tonnes. Bars and coins, the savings metal, rose 9% to 50.3 tonnes. Recycled gold, the domestic substitute Delhi likes to talk about, fell 17% to 19.2 tonnes from 23.1 tonnes. Sachin Jain, the council’s India chief, said consumers still put gold first even at these prices, and he put 2026 demand in a 650 to 750 tonne band.

It’s been a record in terms of the value of demand. So, consumption was Rs 1,98,100 crores, compared with Rs 1,32,500 crores in the same period in 2025, which is up by 50 per cent.

Sachin Jain, Regional CEO, India, World Gold Council

Commerce figures make the same point in dollars. Gold imports in April-July were $15.17 billion, up 32.4% from $11.46 billion a year earlier. Last fiscal year’s gold bill was already an all-time high of $71.98 billion, even though volumes slipped 4.76% to 721.03 tonnes. Spot gold was around $4,430 an ounce on Tuesday. Price, not appetite, is doing most of the damage.

After the May Duty, Imports Came Back in July

This is the second pass at the same household list. On May 10 in Hyderabad, with the Strait of Hormuz in crisis, Modi asked Indians to avoid gold for a year, postpone foreign travel and destination weddings, save petrol, revive work from home and cut cooking oil. Three days later, customs duty on gold moved from 6% to 15%.

THE GOLD SQUEEZE, MAY TO SEPTEMBER

1. May 10, 2026: At a Hyderabad rally, Modi asks for a one-year pause on gold buying, overseas holidays and foreign weddings, and frames forex saving as patriotism.
2. May 13, 2026: Import duty on gold and silver rises from 6% to 15%.
3. April-June 2026: Demand volume falls 6% and jewellery 15%, while the rupee value of demand jumps 50%.
4. July 2026: Gold imports more than double from June as shops restock.
5. August 31, 2026: MoSPI prints 7.8% real growth for April-June.
6. September 1, 2026: From Bishkek, Modi repeats the gold, holiday and wedding lines, this time as “unless necessary,” not as a fresh one-year ban.

The duty and the first appeal did slow the metal. They did not slow the dollar drain for long. The World Gold Council’s August note said gold imports rebounded in July to $4.16 billion, more than double June’s $1.97 billion, with volumes estimated at 40-45 tonnes against 20 tonnes in June. Gold’s share of merchandise imports was 5% in July, against 11% in January-March. Indian gold ETFs still added metal, taking holdings to 120 tonnes.

That July bounce is restocking for Navratri, Diwali and the marriage calendar. It is also the reason a second video was always likely. A one-year freeze announced in May still has months to run. The trade numbers did not wait.

Jewellers Face Wedding Season With Thin Orders

If households obey this time, the pain does not fall on a bullion vault in Switzerland. It falls on small shops, makers and artisans who live off wedding orders. The Chamber of Trade and Industry, whose chairman is Brijesh Goyal, said annual use could drop from about 800 tonnes to 500 tonnes if the slowdown holds. India usually sits near 700-800 tonnes a year on the chamber’s count.

WHAT THE TRADE SAYS IS ALREADY BROKEN

• Small shops: Business for small makers and retailers is down 60-70% since the May appeal, the chamber said.

Empty days: Jewellers described 7-10 days with no walk-ins and said some shops have stopped restocking, waiting for prices to fall.

• Amritsar makers: A large ornament hub is already seeing families skip even a ring or a pair of earrings.
• Wedding calendar: Buying for October-November marriages has started, Goyal said, which is why a second appeal now lands on the peak booking window.
• Workshop pay: Goldsmiths and artisans eat only when orders move; a long lull hits wages before it hits listed jewellery chains.

One trade line making the rounds was grim enough to stick: after the first appeal, people spoke of ornament makers driving e-rickshaws or selling street food. That is anecdote, not a labour survey. It is also how a patriotism campaign feels in a karigar lane when the counter is quiet and gold is still near $4,430.

Organised retailers can lean on old-gold exchange, lighter pieces and festive footfall. The unorganised layer cannot. A successful appeal would trim the import bill only if it kills new metal, not if families just melt last year’s set and walk out with a new design. Recycled supply already fell in the April-June quarter. Exchange keeps the shop open. It does not save as many dollars as Delhi is asking for.

Why Overseas Holidays Are in This Appeal

The travel half of the video is the same forex logic in a suitcase. A leisure trip spends dollars on tickets, hotels, food and local cabs. An overseas wedding spends more, and for longer. Modi is not asking students, patients or workers to stay home. He is asking families to holiday here and to “Wed in India.”

That market was already splitting. Industry estimates put domestic destination-wedding growth around 15-20% a year, and some planners say Indian-venue enquiries are up 20-30%. Average budgets circulating in trade notes run near Rs 58 lakh for a domestic destination wedding and about Rs 1.5 crore overseas. Udaipur, Goa and Mumbai have taken celebrity ceremonies that once defaulted to the Gulf.

The catch for the current account is that the families who fly out for a wedding are a thin slice of the country, while gold is a mass habit. Cutting foreign shaadis helps hotels in Rajasthan more than it helps the rupee. Cutting gold, if it actually happens, hits both the import bill and a workforce that has no other peak season.

The $31.98 Billion Gap Behind a Strong Quarter

Monday’s GDP print is the reason the Bishkek clip could sound like a victory lap. Real GDP in April-June was ₹81.36 lakh crore, up from ₹75.46 lakh crore a year earlier, a 7.8% rise. Nominal GDP grew 10.3%. Real GVA grew 8.2%. The Reserve Bank had pencilled in 7%. The previous quarter, after revisions, was 8.6%.

THE EXTERNAL BILL BESIDE THE GROWTH PRINT

• July goods gap: The merchandise deficit was $31.98 billion, as exports rose to $44.24 billion and July merchandise imports of $76.22 billion set the wider hole.
• April-July goods gap: The four-month merchandise deficit was $118.60 billion, against $96.66 billion a year earlier.
• Oil share: India still imports about 88% of its crude, so a West Asia shock hits the same dollar pool gold draws on.
• Gold’s slice: $15.17 billion of gold in four months is a discretionary stack on top of fuel, coal, electronics and fertiliser.

Growth has not closed that gap. It may be feeding it. A 7.8% quarter with strong investment and factory output is exactly when wedding gold, festival coins and foreign holidays pick up. The government already used the tariff. The video is what is left: moral suasion aimed at households, filmed beside a growth number that makes the ask look odd.

If the clip works, small jewellers walk into October with thinner books and the import bill still depends on the ounce price. If it fails, July’s restocking was the preview and the May freeze expires as a slogan. Either way, the Bishkek appeal is asking a rising economy to spend like a frightened one, four months after Delhi already asked once.

Disclaimer: This article is news reporting and analysis of a government appeal and published trade, GDP and gold-demand figures. It is informational only and is not investment, tax, travel or wedding-planning advice, and it is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold gold, jewellery, currency or any other asset. Readers who are deciding whether to purchase bullion, book foreign travel or shift a wedding should consult a qualified financial adviser, chartered accountant or planner who can look at their own income, tax and family facts. All figures and policy statuses here reflect the official and industry sources cited as of 2 September 2026 and may change with later data, prices and government decisions.