Shashi Tharoor: India sits atop 500 million tons of gold ore, so why isn't it being mined?

By Shashi Tharoor NDTV.com, New Delhi, India Thursday, April 9, 2026 We are a nation obsessed with gold, a civilisation that treats the yellow metal as both a spiritual necessity and the ultimate firewall against the vagaries of fortune. Yet, while we sit atop an estimated 500 million tons of unmined gold ore, our domestic production remains a rounding error on the global ledger.  We mine a pittance -- barely 1 1/2 tons a year -- while draining our foreign exchange reserves to import hundreds of tons annually from mines in Australia, Ghana, and Peru. This state of affairs is more than an irony; it is a self-inflicted wound that undermines our economic sovereignty at a time when the world order is fracturing. ... Dispatch continues below ... ... ADVERTISEMENT ... Ultra-Secure Swiss Vault Storage from Tara Gold and Silver Ltd. Tara Gold is delighted to announce the launch of our ultra-secure gold and silver secure storage service. GATA followers can now own gold and silver coins and bars -- including the Gold and Silver Trees of Life — with fully segregated, allocated holdings in one of the safest vault providers in Switzerland and the world. All coins and bars are held in your name. Not a paper claim. Not someone else's liability. Real, physical precious metals you can visit, inspect, take delivery of, or sell at any time. Safety, Trust & Privacy: Our Swiss storage partner is Helveticor AG in Zurich. Tara Gold's Mark O'Byrne, after extensive international due diligence, served as Helveticor's global ambassador for two years and stores metal with them personally. He has known the owners and senior staff for 20 years and trusts their vaults implicitly. Your metals there are fully insured and held outside the banking system — no counterparty risk, no digital risk, and no fractional reserving, with complete discreetness and privacy. Liquidity: Switzerland is a primary hub for precious metals. You can sell quickly and competitively, with proceeds transferred directly to your bank account. Tax Efficiency: Gold and silver in Swiss-bonded vaults are exempt from sales taxes. You pay only if you remove bullion from Switzerland. For holdings of $100,000 or more, the combination of security, privacy, liquidity, and tax efficiency makes this a compelling international diversification. For rates, application forms, and all key information, visit here or contact GATA supporter Tara Gold and Silver Ltd.'s Mark O'Byrne at [email protected] or +353-12641850. The glittering paradox that sits at the heart of the Indian economy is not merely a curiosity for geologists; it is a profound indictment of national policy.  For decades, the Indian state has approached gold mining with a mindset of scarcity and suspicion rather than one of strategic abundance. The regulatory labyrinth that a prospective miner must navigate is so dense and archaic that it effectively functions as a prohibition.  From the initial reconnaissance permit to the final mining lease, the process is a gauntlet of overlapping jurisdictions, opaque environmental clearances, and a tax regime that punishes the very risk-taking it should be courting.  While other nations have streamlined their mining codes to attract the billions in capital required for deep-shaft exploration, India has remained trapped in a colonial-era bureaucratic inertia that treats every mineral deposit as a potential scandal rather than a national asset. ... ... For the remainder of the commentary: https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/india-sits-atop-500-million-tonnes-of-gold-why-isnt-it-being-mined-11333732 * * * Support GATA by purchasing Stuart Englert's "Rigged" "Rigged" is a concise explanation of government's currency market rigging policy and extensively credits GATA's work exposing it. Ten percent of sales proceeds are contributed to GATA. Buy a copy for $14.99 through Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/3xt6uw66 * * * Help keep GATA going: GATA is a civil rights and educational organization based in the United States and tax-exempt under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Its e-mail dispatches are free, and you can subscribe at: http://www.gata.org To contribute to GATA, please visit: http://www.gata.org/node/16 Donations of $500 or more will entitle the donor to a 1-ounce silver round commemorating GATA's work: https://www.gata.org/sites/default/files/GATA-silver-round-front.png