"At present, there is no proposal to review the gold import policy," Minister of State for Commerce and Industry C R Chaudhary said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha. The gems and jewellery sector has demanded a reduction in import duty on the metal, he said. The request, he said, was examined in this years Budget.

However, taking note of the fact that despite 10 per cent import duty, imports of gold have remained high, and reduction in the duty would have resulted in "substantial loss of revenue", no change was made in the duty, he added.

Gold imports declined by 17 per cent to USD 2.89 billion in February as against USD 3.48 billion in the same month last year.