*** GOLD-TARDS: INDIANS LEAD THE WAY !! ***

NEW DELHI: The glitter of gold is taking the shine off India's growth story. According to World Gold Council, India's gold imports rose 60% in April-June 2011 from a year ago, as people snapped up the timetested hedge against inflation. India has always been a huge gold consumer, but the yellow metal is now our second-biggest import, behind crude, up from fifth place in 2007-08.

As money has flowed into gold, India's household savings have moved away from productive financial assets, falling to 9.7% of GDP during 2010-11 compared with 12.1% in the previous year. This shift away from financial savings can dent growth, but it's hard to say by exactly how much.

"To the extent there is a shift from household savings in financial assets towards gold, which we know has been happening, it would lead to some loss in the GDP growth," said Indranil Pan, chief economist, Kotak Bank, "although it's hard to gauge the magnitude of the loss." Gold imports are up nearly half a percentage point of the GDP in the last three years, implying that much more of savings is getting locked up in an unproductive asset.

[link to timesofindia.indiatimes.com]