To slash gold demand, make equity market more attractive: Uday Kotak

Giving an interesting analogy, Kotak said that the huge demand for gold and the consequent surge in its import was actually leading to Indian money getting exported to foreign countries for purchase of gold from there.

"Today what we are witnessing is that foreign savers are putting money into equity here or you can say we are importing foreign savings into our equity. At the same time we are exporting Indian savings into foreign gold," he added.

Kotak said that all other steps including imposition of higher duty can continue but it is very important to give an attractive alternative to Indian savers to drive them away from idle asset like gold.

"If you are buying gold today and instead of gold you want to buy some other asset class that is more attractive that could be only equity," he added.

Asked about stock market movement going forward, he said: the market should give 15-20 per cent return this year from the current levels.

Asked whether such a stellar performance would help in shifting investors' interest from gold to equity, he said: "Absolutely."

The Indian government on January 21 hiked the import duty on gold and platinum to 6 per cent from 4 per cent with immediate effect - a move aimed at curbing imports of the precious metals to check the widening current account deficit.

The government also decided to link Gold Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) with gold deposit scheme, which will enable mutual funds to unlock their physical gold and

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