The Finance Minister P.Chidambaram has stated today, 28th January, that the gold-smuggling has reached about 3,000 kg per month. This is an admission of the inability of the government to check this unauthorised and illegal smuggling to the country. He also stated that the higher duties and other curbs might have resulted in increase of smuggling and after a few months the restrictions can be revisited.
Two things come out of the statement. One, the smuggling has increased and the government has failed to curb the same. Second, the Government is rethinking on reducing the duties, curbs etc. on gold import. Instead of taking strong action against the illegal smuggling, the government is thinking of reducing the duties etc. to please the offenders and try to reduce the smuggling that way. Wonderful! The government has utterly failed in this respect; or otherwise, the government want to help the offenders. Both way, it is a failure of the government.