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Gold coin, bar sales on hold for 6 months

[email protected] (TNN)
July 11, 2013

Gold_coinNew Delhi, Jul 11:In an unprecedented move, top jewellery retailers and bullion traders across the country have decided to suspend sale of gold coins and bars for six months. The measure is aimed at helping the government curb imports and keep the current account deficit under check.

Several prominent chains, including TBZ, Gitanjali, Tanishq and Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jewels, will voluntarily stop sales. Coins and bars account for more than a third of gold sales in the country. India is the world's largest gold buyer, at 860 tonnes a year. Market estimates suggest that the demand for coins and bars surged 150% in the past four years.

The move by top jewellery retailers and bullion traders to suspend sale of gold coins and bars for six months comes at a time when the government and the Reserve Bank of India have asked banks to go slow on selling gold coins and bars and players such as Anil Ambani's Reliance Capital have pulled out of the business.

Although the government had taken several steps to tame sales, the impact has been slow and it was only in June that there were signs of demand cooling down. "We had a meeting with the government last month after the restrictions on gold imports were introduced. As an industry body, we realized we have to regulate ourselves. If the sale of coins and bars is stopped, it will restrict imports significantly," said Ashok Minawala, board member at the All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation which asked traders across the country to stop taking orders for bars and coins.

"Demand for gold jewellery in the last 10 years has remained more or less constant. But investment demand has increased manifold. We will not promote the sale of coins and bars till CAD issue is resolved," said Sanjeev Agarwal, CEO of Gitanjali. The jewellery brand has stopped purchase of coins and bars already and is currently only liquidating its stocks.

While consumers will find it tougher to get hold of gold coins, retailers will not be hit due to the low profit margins. Against a profit margin of 8-12 % on diamond and gold jewellery, the margin on coins and bars is as low as 1-2 %. "Jewellers stock coins and bars only because consumers ask for them on special occasions or for investment purpose. Most of it is converted into jewellery after couple of years," said Agarwal.

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coastaldigest.com news network
August 1,2020

Bengaluru,  Aug 1: As many as 5,172 new COVID-19 cases and 98 deaths were reported in Karnataka on Saturday, taking the state's count of coronavirus cases to 1,29,287.

The active cases in the state now stand at 73,219 while 53,648 people have been discharged.

"5,172 new COVID-19 cases and 98 deaths reported in Karnataka in the last 24 hours, taking total cases to 1,29,287 including 53,648 discharges and 2,412 deaths. The number of active cases stands at 73,219," said State Health Department.

So far, a total of 2,412 people have died in the state.

India, on Saturday, reported 57,117 new COVID-19 cases, taking the country's coronavirus tally to 16,95,988, said the Union Health Ministry. 

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News Network
April 11,2020

Bengaluru, Apr 11: Karnataka Library Department’s mobile application, which is said to be the first of its kind initiative in the country has seen an exponential growth in downloads during the COVID-19 lockdown, a senior Minister said on Friday. The main reason that the application is growing is due to the heavy students demand as schools and colleges are closed during the 21-day nationwide lockdown.

Students are relying on online material for their studies as they can’t step out of the house and risk being infected.

The Library Department's efforts to keep readers active through the lockdown time, by prompting them to utilise its e-initiatives is paying off, Primary and Secondary Education Minister Suresh Kumar said.

"The app is seeing exponential increase in downloads since its launch. As many as 16,500 people have taken it; while ten thousand people have downloaded it during this brief lock down time itself," he said.

E-library mobile app was released by the library department on February 26.

There are over one lakh e-books available on department's digital platform ranging from arts, humanity, school curriculum, competitive exams and self help to classic novels - all for free for the readers.

"Its needless to say, the variety of attractive content that is available in the app is creating all the buzz among the public. Not just the books, the app contains over 600 educational videos too," the Minister said in a statement.

Considering that over 16,500 readers have downloaded the app since its launch a couple of months back, its high time, we see this domain as an opportunity for growth, he said, and stressed on the need for better adaptability approaches to the changing times.

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coastaldigest.com news network
August 3,2020

Bengaluru/ Mangaluru, Aug 3: For the first time in many days, if not weeks, the number of recoveries in Karnataka was higher than new covid-19 cases in the state raising hope of some relief against the virus.

Karnataka confirmed 4752 new covid- 19 cases while the number of recoveries stood at 4776 in the 24 hours until 5 pm on Monday. The state also recorded 98 deaths. 

Medical education minister K.Sudhakar said that the recovery rate in Karnataka is at around 42%

"Everyday there is increase in recovery rate which is higher by 9.17% in Bengaluru city. Overall recovery rate of the state by Sunday evening was 42.81 % and it is 35.14% in Bengaluru," the minister posted on Twitter.

The total number of cases in Bengaluru crossed the 60,000 mark including 1497 cases on Monday.

The total number of cases in Mysuru breached 5000 cases as 372 persons tested positive. The mineral-rich district of Ballari recorded 305 cases. Other parts of Karnataka has seen a surge in cases with 15 out of the 30 districts reporting at least a 100 cases.

Dakshina Kananda

Dakshina Kannada district alone has recorded 153 new cases and seven deaths. 
Among the 153 new cases, 119 are from Mangaluru, 11 from Bantwal, six from Beltangady, four from Puttur, one from Sullia, and 12 from other districts.

The total number of covid positive cases in the district mounted to 6,168. Out of these, 3,138 cases are currently active. As many as 2,854 persons have recovered and been discharged, and 176 deaths have occurred so far.

Udupi

Udupi reported 126 fresh cases past 24 hours, according to health bulletin released by the Udupi district administration. They include 58 from Udupi, 34 from Kundapur, 28 from Karkala, and six from other districts. 

A total of 34,500 samples have been collected so far. 29,174 have turned out to be negative. As many as 4,800 confirmed cases of coronavirus have been reported so far in the district. 

As many as 2,812 patients have been discharged so far, and 1,952 cases are currently active. As per district bulletin, 36 deaths have occurred so far. One positive case has been transferred to Dakshina Kannada.

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