Local consumption is forecast to rise to 850 tonness to 950 tonnes by 2020
India had imported 25.3 tonnes gold in May 2016
Total imports of the precious metal in 2015-16 amounted to $31.7 billion
India is the world's second largest gold consumer after China
Total import of the precious metal in the corresponding period of 2015-16 stood at $30.71 bn
Gold imports dipped by 48.49% to $1.96 billion in December
Assocham report says gold imports declined due to a prolonged strike by jewellers and continuation of 10 per cent customs duty on imports
Experts believe that import duty on the yellow metal needs to be cut back to at least 6% to discourage unofficial imports
Move follows instances of pure gold imports as dore
Discounts fall to 3-month low levels due to pick-up in imports, demand
"Gold imports declined to 19.6 tonnes in April, against 60 tonnes in the year-ago period," a senior official at MMTC Pamp said.