Under the bright showroom lights of Noida’s Sector 18 and the narrow, centuries-old lanes of Dariba Kalan in Old Delhi, the gold trade is learning to live with a new kind of uncertainty: not just fluctuating prices but a public appeal from Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking Indians to stop buying gold for a year.

Within days of the prime minister’s austerity call, the Centre increased import duties on gold and silver, pushing domestic prices sharply upward and deepening fears among traders already grappling with weak footfall and volatile international markets.

“Customer footfall was already low, and after the statement of our prime minister it has decreased even further,” said Anubhav Jindal of Jagmohan Lal & Sons Jewellers in New Delhi’s Chandni Chowk. “People follow whatever the prime minister says. The entire sales cycle is disrupted.”

Video Editor: Rajbir Kathait