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By:

Kaustubh Kale

10 September 2024 at 6:07:15 pm

Akshay Tritiya and Gold

As Akshay Tritiya arrives, gold once again takes centre stage in Indian households. For generations, buying gold on this auspicious day has been considered a symbol of prosperity, purity, and good fortune. It is not just a purchase. It is an emotion, a blessing, and a tradition passed from one generation to another. But beyond tradition, gold also carries an important financial lesson. Gold is not just jewellery. It is an asset. Gold During Uncertain Times Over the years, gold has proved its...

Akshay Tritiya and Gold

As Akshay Tritiya arrives, gold once again takes centre stage in Indian households. For generations, buying gold on this auspicious day has been considered a symbol of prosperity, purity, and good fortune. It is not just a purchase. It is an emotion, a blessing, and a tradition passed from one generation to another. But beyond tradition, gold also carries an important financial lesson. Gold is not just jewellery. It is an asset. Gold During Uncertain Times Over the years, gold has proved its worth not only during festivals, but also during uncertain times. Whenever the world faces wars, inflation, currency weakness, economic slowdown, or financial panic, investors across the globe look at gold as a safe haven. This is because gold has a unique quality. It is trusted across countries, cultures, and generations. It does not depend on the promise of one government, one company, or one currency. Why Gold Holds Value Unlike paper currency, gold cannot be printed endlessly. Unlike businesses, it does not depend on profits or management quality. Unlike real estate, it is globally accepted and easily valued. This is why gold continues to remain one of the oldest and most respected stores of value. It has survived centuries of change, economic cycles, wars, and financial crises. The Right Role in Your Portfolio That said, gold should not be treated as a shortcut to wealth creation. Equities and equity mutual funds still remain essential for long-term growth. Gold plays a different role. It brings balance, stability, and protection to your portfolio. When equity markets are volatile or global uncertainty rises, gold often provides comfort. A sensible allocation of around 10-20% to gold can help reduce overall portfolio risk.  So basically, while stocks and equity mutual funds play the lead role in your long-term financial goals, gold plays the supporting but essential role. Physical Gold Has Limitations However, the way you invest in gold matters. Buying physical gold during festivals may feel emotionally satisfying, but it comes with practical challenges. There are making charges, purity concerns, storage issues, risk of theft, and liquidity problems. A necklace may be beautiful, but you cannot easily sell only a small portion of it when you need money. Also, when gold is bought as jewellery, the investor often forgets to calculate the actual return after making charges and deductions. Smarter Ways to Invest This is where Gold Mutual Funds and Gold ETFs become useful. They allow you to invest in gold without worrying about lockers, purity, theft, or storage. You can invest flexible amounts, start SIPs, track value easily, and redeem conveniently when required. For investors who want gold as part of their financial plan, these options are far more practical than buying jewellery purely as an investment. Tradition with Financial Clarity Akshay Tritiya is a beautiful reminder that wealth should be built with faith, patience, and clarity. Buying gold is auspicious, but buying it in the right form is financially wise. This Akshay Tritiya, celebrate tradition - but also upgrade your financial thinking. Because true prosperity is not just about owning gold. It is about owning it smartly. (The writer is a Chartered Accountant and CFA (USA). Financial Advisor. Views personal. He could be reached on 9833133605.)

Unrest within Mahayuti

Updated: Jan 21, 2025

Mahayuti

Mumbai: The state administration on Sunday stalled the appointments of guardian ministers in Raigad and Nashik districts. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had cleared the appointments before he left for Davos in Switzerland to attend the World Economic Forum on Saturday. They are believed to have been stalled on behest of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who heads the state in absence of the Chief Minister.


NCP’s Aditi Tatkare and BJP’s Girish Mahajan were entrusted with responsibilities of guardian minister for the Raigad and Nashik districts respectively, where Shiv Sena’s Bharat Gogawale and Dada Bhuse had staked claims. Gogawale is a first-time minister while, Bhuse had been the guardian minister of the district during previous government under Eknath Shinde.


Shiv Sena, NCP and BJP all the three constituents of Mahayuti have strong roots in both the districts. However, the Shiv Sena and the NCP had been particularly on loggerheads there. The Shiv Sena, which had been demanding the guardian minister’s post in Nashik district has managed to win only two assembly seats in the district where the NCP has Six and the BJP has Five MLAs. On the contrary, in Raigad the NCP has won only one seat while the Shiv Sena and the BJP both have Three MLAs each in the district.


Sunil Tatkare, MP from Raigad Lok Sabha constituency and the stat unit president of the NCP and father of Aditi Tatkare, had been the guardian minister of Raigad between 2004 and 2014. Gogawale had always been his political opponent before Tatkare joined the Mahayuti government under Ajit Pawar’s leadership in 2023. Gogawale claimed that all the Six Shiv Sena-BJP MLAs in the district had opined in his favour to be the guardian minister of the district and after the decision to appoint Aditi Tatkare was announced, his supporters resorted to violent protests. They burnt tyres in bid to stall traffic on highway in the district. Reacting to the developments, Tatkare said that the issue should be pondered over after CM Fadnavis returns from Davos on Saturday and settled amicably.


In Nashik Girish Mahajan had been the guardian minister of the district between 2014 and 2019 when Fadnavis was the Chief Minister.


The post of guardian minister doesn’t have any constitutional mandate and is considered to be a political appointment. Guardian ministers head the district planning and development councils (DPDC) that control the funds for development works being carried out in the particular district. This control wields much of political power to the minister in that district whereby spreading the party in the district becomes much easier. This is the reason why the grass root politicians seem to be very sensitive to such appointments.


While Gogawale and Bhuse are unhappy about not being appointed as guardian ministers, some others like NCP’s Hasan Mushrif and BJP’s Pankaja Munde are unhappy about not being appointed as guardian district in their home districts of Kolhapur and Beed respectively. DCM Shinde is learnt to have gone to his ancestral village Dare in Satara district after the decision and BJP’s firefighters Chandrashekhar Bawankule and Girish Mahajan are expected to meet him there to try finding a way out of the issue.

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