Dhanteras gold buying kicks off, record prices may dampen volumes by 15pc
Mumbai/New Delhi (PTI): Gold and silver buying on the auspicious occasion of Dhanteras kicked off on Saturday with jewellers expecting higher footfalls, though record high prices of the yellow metal could dampen demand by 15 per cent in volume terms compared with a year earlier.
Dhanteras, the most auspicious day in the Hindu calendar for buying items ranging from precious metals to utensils, is being celebrated over two days until 1.45 pm on Sunday, with jewellers expecting more footfalls in both online and offline stores.
Gold prices have surged 65 per cent to Rs 1,34,800 per 10 grams of 24 karat, inclusive of all taxes, in the national capital, compared with Rs 81,400 on Dhanteras last year, which was celebrated on October 29, 2024.
Silver prices are currently at Rs 1,77,000 per kilogram.
"We are expecting the momentum to pick up after the muhurat time. Since the festival falls on a weekend we have geared up for a robust Dhanteras," All India Gem And Jewellery Domestic Council (GJC) Chairman Rajesh Rokde told PTI.
GJC expects gold sales to increase by 40-45 per cent in value terms on a year-on-year basis, he said.
Suvankar Sen, Managing Director and chief executive of Senco Gold and Diamonds, said high prices will affect sale volumes by 12-15 per cent, but in value terms there will be growth of 20-25 per cent on Dhanteras.
While some consumers are still buying gold jewellery even at high rates, many are shifting towards silver buying, especially bullion.
Saiyam Mehra, former chairman of GJC, said volume-wise, gold jewellery sales are expected to witness a decline of 10 per cent on Dhanteras.
He said silver prices surged due to scarcity of the white metal since last month because of a ban on imports of jewellery, though silver prices have now started seeing a correction.
Sachin Jain, regional CEO for India at the World Gold Council, said Dhanteras and Diwali are the top gold-buying occasions in India.
"Despite gold prices reaching multiple historic highs through 2025, witnessing an approximate 51.2 per cent year-to-date increase in rupee prices by end-September, consumer sentiment and demand for the yellow metal have been positive," he said.
Retailers, who had been cautious about their inventories in recent months, are now well-stocked and optimistic, with seasonal and wedding-related demand further fuelling purchases, suggesting a vibrant festive season for gold sales.
Consumer buying is expected to be strong across various gold purchases, from higher caratage gold jewellery to investment products like digital gold, coins and ETFs.
"This positive outlook is strongly supported by India registering positive gold ETF flows of USD 902 million in September, along with overall gold imports reaching a nine-month high in August 2025," Jain said, adding that gold demand is expected to continue through the Diwali period and until the end of the year due to the wedding season.
Kam Jewelry Managing Director Colin Shah said while demand dynamics are likely to remain consistent, consumer preferences are rapidly shifting toward lightweight jewellery.
"The festive season is expected to see a significant surge in demand for jewellery in the 9 to 18 carat segment. ... we foresee a festive surge of 18-20 per cent in overall sales," Shah said.
India is the world's second-largest gold consumer and one of the largest importers globally, after China.
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Single higher education regulator bill tabled in LS; Oppn flags ‘centralisation,' JPC likely
New Delhi: A bill to set up a 13-member body to regulate institutions of higher education was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan introduced the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, which seeks to establish an overarching higher education commission along with three councils for regulation, accreditation, and ensuring academic standards for universities and higher education institutions in India.
Meanwhile, the move drew strong opposition, with members warning that it could weaken institutional autonomy and result in excessive centralisation of higher education in India.
The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025, earlier known as the Higher Education Council of India (HECI) Bill, has been introduced in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
The proposed legislation seeks to merge three existing regulatory bodies, the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), into a single unified body called the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan.
At present, the UGC regulates non-technical higher education institutions, the AICTE oversees technical education, and the NCTE governs teacher education in India.
Under the proposed framework, the new commission will function through three separate councils responsible for regulation, accreditation, and the maintenance of academic standards across universities and higher education institutions in the country.
According to the Bill, the present challenges faced by higher educational institutions due to the multiplicity of regulators having non-harmonised regulatory approval protocols will be done away with.
The higher education commission, which will be headed by a chairperson appointed by the President of India, will cover all central universities and colleges under it, institutes of national importance functioning under the administrative purview of the Ministry of Education, including IITs, NITs, IISc, IISERs, IIMs, and IIITs.
At present, IITs and IIMs are not regulated by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
Government to refer bill to JPC; Oppn slams it
The government has expressed its willingness to refer it to a joint committee after several members of the Lok Sabha expressed strong opposition to the Bill, stating that they were not given time to study its provisions.
Responding to the opposition, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government intends to refer the Bill to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for detailed examination.
Congress Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari warned that the Bill could result in “excessive centralisation” of higher education. He argued that the proposed law violates the constitutional division of legislative powers between the Union and the states.
According to him, the Bill goes beyond setting academic standards and intrudes into areas such as administration, affiliation, and the establishment and closure of university campuses. These matters, he said, fall under Entry 25 of the Concurrent List and Entry 32 of the State List, which cover the incorporation and regulation of state universities.
Tewari further stated that the Bill suffers from “excessive delegation of legislative power” to the proposed commission. He pointed out that crucial aspects such as accreditation frameworks, degree-granting powers, penalties, institutional autonomy, and even the supersession of institutions are left to be decided through rules, regulations, and executive directions. He argued that this amounts to a violation of established constitutional principles governing delegated legislation.
Under the Bill, the regulatory council will have the power to impose heavy penalties on higher education institutions for violating provisions of the Act or related rules. Penalties range from ₹10 lakh to ₹75 lakh for repeated violations, while establishing an institution without approval from the commission or the state government could attract a fine of up to ₹2 crore.
Concerns were also raised by members from southern states over the Hindi nomenclature of the Bill. N.K. Premachandran, an MP from the Revolutionary Socialist Party representing Kollam in Kerala, said even the name of the Bill was difficult to pronounce.
He pointed out that under Article 348 of the Constitution, the text of any Bill introduced in Parliament must be in English unless Parliament decides otherwise.
DMK MP T.M. Selvaganapathy also criticised the government for naming laws and schemes only in Hindi. He said the Constitution clearly mandates that the nomenclature of a Bill should be in English so that citizens across the country can understand its intent.
Congress MP S. Jothimani from Tamil Nadu’s Karur constituency described the Bill as another attempt to impose Hindi and termed it “an attack on federalism.”
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