India has buried a shame in gold, but reaped a worry in grains. (The Telegraph)

In a stunning turnaround in fortune from 1991 when, in order to avoid defaults in foreign exchange payments, India was compelled to pledge gold to Bank of England and Union Bank of Switzerland, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has bought 200 tons of gold from International Monetary Fund (IMF) for $6.8 million.

In contrast, the summer rice production has been forecasted to go down by as much as 15 million tons which may necessitate imports of the commodity - a grave realization of the fact that we are still totally dependent on monsoon.

IMF decided to sell a part of its gold holding, 403.3 tons, about 1/8th. of its stock, to step up concessional lendings to the poorest countries where India emerged as a surprise buyer because China, and not India, was considered to be the leading contender.

India ranked 14th. among the Gold Reserve Holders, by the World Gold Council, with 357.7 tons. After this addition, it will go up by 55%, to 557.7 tons, and India now ranks 11th. India’s Foreign Exchange Reserve now stands at $285.5 billion.

The country now has a rice stock of 15 million tons, together with 29 million tons of other food grains, but the forecast spells concern.
(Source: The Telegraph:www.telegraphindia.com)