Once considered as the hub of bullion trade in India, Gujarat is fast losing its golden touch. The Rs 80 crore bullion scam involving the cooperative bank sector and then the tax sops offered by states like Maharashtra, Rajasthan and of late, even Haryana, has hit the Gujarat bullion trade. The state has lost as much as 80 per cent in the state's bullion trade ever since March this year. Though the State Bank of India, which got its fingers badly burnt in the bullion scam in 2001 and was forced to exit the sector for almost a year before making a cautious entry once again in February this year, volumes of trade in the sector are a minuscule percentage of what they were a year ago, sources say. Things have really changed and that too for the worse for Gujarat and one thing is for sure, no matter how hard it tries, the state can never regain its position as the leader of the bullion business in the country ever again.
NSTL
