The central government has given permission to 15 major banks of the country to import gold and silver till March 31, 2029. Big names like State Bank of India (SBI), Punjab National Bank (PNB) and HDFC Bank are included in this list. This approval has become effective from 1 April 2026. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) under the Commerce Ministry has issued a notification giving this information. These 15 banks got approval to import gold and silver. New list came before Akshaya Tritiya. This decision has been taken just before Akshaya Tritiya coming on 19 April 2026. In India, Akshaya Tritiya is considered to be the biggest opportunity to buy gold apart from the wedding season. The share of this festival in retail sales is around 15% to 20%. Due to the fall in prices in the last few weeks, analysts are considering this as a good opportunity for buyers. There was a stir after the Reuters report. Earlier a report had claimed that due to lack of government notification, banks had stopped orders for gold and silver. Due to this the consignments were stuck at customs. After this news, a huge fall was seen in the shares of jewelery companies on Friday. Kalyan Jewelers’ shares fell by 6% and Titan’s shares fell by 3%. At the same time, shares of government trading company MMTC rose by 16%. 3 big benefits for the common man To control trade deficit India is one of the largest consumers of gold in the world. According to the World Gold Council, gold demand in India will fall to 710.9 metric tons in 2025, which is a 5-year low. India’s import bill is likely to increase due to increase in oil and gas prices due to Iran conflict. In such a situation, the government is regulating to control the trade deficit. This step of DGFT will help in stopping illegal trade of gold and silver and will bring clarity in bullion trade for the next 3 years. This will help jewelers, refiners and institutional buyers to maintain the supply chain. The aim of the government is to bring the import of gold and silver through regulated channels, so that transparency is maintained and illegal trade is stopped. Gold and silver worth crores were stuck due to delay in notification. For the last few days, there was difficulty in getting new consignments of gold and silver into the country. According to media reports, due to lack of formal notification issued by the government, banks had stopped placing new orders. The consignment which had already reached India was also stuck at the ports due to lack of custom clearance. Actually, the previous official order had expired on March 31, 2026. Due to the delay in releasing the new list, jewelers and dealers feared that it might reduce supply in the domestic market and increase prices. Knowledge Part: What is DGFT? The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) is an attached office of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Its main function is to formulate and implement policies related to foreign trade, such as Export-Import (EXIM) policy.
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15 banks got new license to import gold and silver: SBI, PNB and HDFC included in the list, there will be no shortage of supply in the country.
