Congress Leader Jairam Ramesh Questions Huge Silver Imports from UAE
New Delhi, India – Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has raised concerns about a massive increase in India’s silver imports from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He pointed out that the imports surged from USD 2.2 million between January and April 2023 to USD 1.44 billion over the same period this year.
Ramesh questioned if there might be a ‘silver scam’ similar to the electoral bond controversy. He highlighted the 654 times increase in silver imports and mentioned that the government is worried about this spike.
The rise in imports follows the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between India and the UAE, which offers certain trade concessions. The agreement was signed on February 18, 2022, and came into effect on May 1, 2022.
According to government data, the overall import of silver grew tenfold during the first four months of the year to USD 3.16 billion. The UAE has now become India’s largest source of silver imports, accounting for 45% of the total, whereas it was not even in the top five a year ago.
The government is actively investigating the reasons behind this surge, especially since the trade deal includes strict rules of origin and value addition norms. Meetings have been held between Customs and the Department of Commerce to address the issue.
