Gold Rate Today in West Bengal - 22 Carat and 24 Karat Gold Price in West Bengal (20th April 2024)

West Bengal is home to historical monuments like Victoria Memorial and the famous Howrah bridge, and its claim to fame has many names like Rabindranath Thakur, Saurav Ganguly, Nazrul Islam, Amartya Sen, and Satyajit Ray. A hub for music, art and literature, West Bengal’s relation to gold is quite evident. Be it weddings or their biggest festival the Durga Puja, women very fondly wear gold jewellery. A customary gold chain and gold buttons are always included in the gifts presented to the groom at a wedding ceremony. 

Traditionally Bengalis are people who like to spend their money judiciously. They are known for maintaining healthy investment portfolios. Gold makes an excellent choice for diversifying your investment bucket. Read on to learn more on various investment instruments and how gold as a commodity behaves in the market.

What is the Gold Rate Today in West Bengal?

The 22-carat gold rate in West Bengal today is ₹ 6975/gm. The 24-carat gold rate in West Bengal is ₹ 7324/gm, as of 20th April 2024. 

Gold Rate In West Bengal For The Last 10 days

Here’s how the 24-carat gold rate in West Bengal and 22k gold rate today in West Bengal have performed over the last 10-days. Note the consistent price rise.

Historical Prices of the Gold Rate in West Bengal

Take a look at the gold rate 24K variations over the last 3 months.

Factors Affecting the Gold Prices in West Bengal

Like any other commodity, the present gold rate in West Bengal is affected by the basic principles of demand and supply. However, there are a few driving factors affecting the supply chain and in turn the gold rates in West Bengal. These are:

Final Price of Jewellery

Jewellery pricing involves few more stakeholders who contribute to the process of fixing the price at which people buy gold jewellery of various purities. 

• Futures Trading: Any commodity, no matter how stable, is vulnerable to selling and buying trends. That is the basis of the whole demand-supply chain and the change in prices. It is true for gold too. To secure its position in the market, MCX, Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd. trades in futures gold contracts that help build a trend. The prices determined by MCX become a standard for daily pricing.
• IBJA: The Indian Bullion Jewellers Association works at a national level to determine daily gold prices. It consults the 10 biggest gold dealers in the country and takes into account all the legal gold sold and bought in India before deciding on the daily gold rate. 
• Taxes and Making Charges: Gold jewellery, the most common form of retail gold purchases, involves taxes and making charges. Depending on their practices, jewelers determine wastage and making charges accordingly. A GST of 3% on the piece of jewellery and 5% on the making charges are added to the total amount you pay to buy the ornament.

So, the way the final jewellery price is calculated, looks something like this:

Gold weight in grams x the gold rate in West Bengal + Making charges (inclusive of 5% GST) + 3% GST on the jewellery price 

Before we look into some of the usual gold investment tools, let’s look at some of the Govt. initiatives:

Gold Monetisation Schemes

Three gold-related schemes were introduced by the Government of India in 2015 -- Gold Monetisation Scheme (GMS), Gold Sovereign Bond Scheme, and India Gold Coin Scheme. These three gold schemes aim to limit gold imports and utilise at least 20,000 tons of gold held by Indian households and institutions to increase liquidity.

Gold Investments Choices explained

Notwithstanding its cultural importance, gold is a sound, long-term investment that can keep you covered during market fluctuations and currency fall. There are various modern ways of investing in gold which can give you better returns.

• Gold ETFs: Gold Exchange Traded Funds are almost like shares. They are paper representations of physical gold. You can trade with them on major stock exchanges and there is no upper limit on these funds. You can buy them online and keep them in your Demat trading account. These are cost-efficient investment options as there are no overheads like making charges and you can buy these at International gold rates, which are lower than physical gold prices. Each ETF here is equal to 1 gm of gold. 
• Digital or E-Gold: This is gold in electronic form. Platforms like Khatabook, allow you to start saving small amounts and keep accumulating gold in an insured locker till maturity. You can exchange the certificate for physical gold at the end of the maturity date that Khatabook will deliver to your doorstep in tamper-proof packaging. 
• Gold Stocks/Shares in Gold Production/Mining Companies: Their return depends on the company’s profits and not on the gold rate.
• Futures: These are contracts that specify that a certain fixed quantity of gold will be traded at a specified future date at a predetermined gold rate. 

• Gold Sovereign Bonds: The SGBs are bonds released by The Reserve Bank of India on behalf of the GOI. You can buy these bonds through banks both in the private and public sectors. The bond prices are linked to the gold rate in West Bengal. It does offer a 2.5% return and is typically issued for 8 years with a lock-in of 5 years. 

Why Investing in Gold is a Smarter Choice?

Let's quickly understand how Gold investment compares with the traditional Fixed deposits. 

Here’s the performance comparison of gold investments versus FDs.

Risk Factor: In terms of risk, both fixed deposits and gold are considered low-risk investments. In the short term, gold can fluctuate, but its value has remained relatively constant. Gold has served as a hedge against inflation and the decrease in currency value, making it a worthwhile investment in the long run. In contrast, FDs are free of external considerations and offer guaranteed returns, but it all depends on the length of time you invest. 

Monthly Income Generation: Gold investments do not generate monthly income. Investing in gold can create wealth over time along while acting as a hedge against volatility, and can become very valuable over time. FDs can, however, provide monthly returns if you choose periodic payments and monthly frequency. 

Premature Closure and Liquidity: Gold is a high liquidity investment that is easy to sell. Physical gold can be exchanged for digital gold units, while the liquidity of FDs depends on the bank's policies. Gold provides you with early liquidation and gold loan options. On the other hand, the sudden closure of FDs results in a penalty of 1% of interest earned.

ROI Analysis: Over the last 30 years Gold has provided a CAGR of 9.8%. However, FDs have provided a CAGR of around 8%. In West Bengal, if you had bought gold every Durga Puja over the past 5 years, according to an ET Wealth report, you would’ve earned 18% CAGR in returns in the current year. However similar analyses of FD’s interest rates, which are linked to the terms and conditions set at the time of opening the account, offer an annual rate of 5-6% with an additional 0.5% for senior citizens.

Important Checks When Buying Gold Jewellery

Here’s what to check when buying jewellery or gold.

• Verify the gold rates: Gold rates vary daily, across locations and even by the moment on the stock market. Before investing, do take a look at the 22-carat gold rate in West Bengal.
• Wastage and Making Charges: The final price of jewellery in West Bengal is higher than today’s gold rate in West Bengal 916. All jewellers charge a making charge to offset labour costs associated with jewellery. In most cases, making charges are based on the current gold price. Machine-made jewellery or jewellery without much artistic design will generally carry a lower making charge and range between 6% and 14% of the gold price. Jewellery with intricate designs may incur higher charges, going up to 25% of the cost of gold.
• Ensure BIS Certification: The BIS or Bureau of Indian standards certifies the purity of gold. The 22K gold bears the BIS-916 hallmark, meaning that every 100gm of gold contains 91.6gm of pure 24k gold. 
• Check the purity levels: 24K gold is 99.94% pure. However, it is not malleable and needs the addition of Copper, Silver etc. The alloyed gold has lower gold purity. You have a choice of gold such as 22K, 18K, 14K, 10K etc. 
• Check the purchase bill, and buy-back terms: The buy-back rates decide the profit you make. Most jewellers assure customers of buyback facilities and exchange of jewellery on a gram-to-gram basis charging only making and wastage charges.

Comparative Chart for 22K, 24K and 18K Gold

Digital Gold

Investing in gold in any form comes with a promise of good returns in the long run. However, for most investors it is not possible to spend a sizable amount every month to buy gold coins or gold jewellery. Digital gold gives you the option to own pure gold without taking the hit of a huge monthly or quarterly expenditure. You can start buying digital gold as low as Rs 1/- in the Gold Savings Plan SIP investment. Over a period of 10 - 20 years, you can accumulate a substantial amount of actual gold, safely kept in an insured vault until you are ready to get it delivered to you. Platforms like Khatabook offer units of digital gold and even fractions of it.  

Trading Digital Gold

Several mobile e-wallets allow you to buy digital gold. You log into the platform, create your account and then perform the following steps on their platform:

1. Select the amount of gold you want to buy in INR or grams - You can buy gold by weight at the current gold rate in West Bengal or buy gold at a fixed price.

2. Choose a payment option - After completing KYC, you will be provided with multiple payment options including accounts, cards, and e-wallets.

3. Safe deposit of your gold - You can access your gold account at any time and it will be updated instantly.

4. Sell at any time – These platforms give you the option to sell your gold digitally at any time.

5. Physical Delivery of the Gold – If you are not planning to sell the gold, you can raise a request to have the gold delivered to your home as coins or bars. Note: Delivery fees are applicable.

Where to Buy Gold in West Bengal

You can buy gold jewellery across West Bengal in its major cities like Kolkata, Jalpaiguri, Damohani, Mainaguri, Paharpur, Belakoba etc. West Bengal has a choice of jewellery stores. Take your pick.

Conclusion

You will need to track the metal rates, daily gold rates and foreign currency rates since these have a direct bearing on your gold investment. Choosing the investment option is a matter of the right choices and risk tolerance.  To buy digital gold, visit the reputed Khatabook platform and create your account with them. Buy your desired gold in grams at the gold rate in West Bengal using Net banking, UPI, Wallets etc. Happy investing