Regulation Limiting Gold Jewelry As Wedding Gifts
By: Kelly York
Indian Weddings
Gold jewelry gifts might be on their way out in India. From the party pooper files is a women’s commission in the state of Kerala on the Malabar Coast of India. They are asking to put a lower limit on the gold that is given at weddings so that the bride’s family cannot give more than 80 grams of gold to the groom’s family.
Gifts of Wedding Gold Jewelry
There is a tradition in India that the bride’s family will give gifts of jewelry to the groom’s family. Traditionally these jewelry gifts are comprised of a lot of gold. The families have become financially burdened with this gold jewelry as of late due to a shortage of gold in India. The families have been known to sell their homes in order to give these gifts. This gift giving of gold jewelry at the wedding is believed to ensure financial prosperity for the newly married couple. Typically this gift is around 400 grams (almost 13.3 ounces) of gold jewelry per wedding. This adds up to about 80 tons of gold per year, about 10% of the Indian gold demand, just for weddings. By limiting the gifts to only 80 grams, the financial burden will drop to about $3,600, which would be more affordable for the typical family.Gold Prices Skyrocketing
Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram wants to end India’s cultural dependence and fascination with gold. Gold import duties have risen to over 10% and this gold fascination is becoming very expensive. Bullion prices have gone up well over 100 times in the past forty years. India’s gold imports have dropped from 60 tons per month to as few as 30 tons per month lately.
Indian Weddings
So, time will tell whether or not the bride’s families in Kerala will decide together if a lot less gold as a gift is a good idea. It is likely the happy couple will be equally financially prosperous whether they receive 13.3 ounces of gold or less than three. But, all that extra gold sure would be nice!