‘Indian women didn’t hoard gold…’: Harsh Goenka salutes the silent portfolio that beat it all

As gold prices breach the ₹1 lakh mark for the first time in India, a quiet investment strategy, long practiced by Indian women, is suddenly looking like genius. 

Harsh Goenka, Chairman of RPG Enterprises, underscored it in a post: “Indian women didn’t hoard gold. They quietly built the country’s most consistent investment portfolio. While men chased stocks, startups, and the latest trends, Dadi opened her locker, beat the market — and reminded us of the innate wisdom that sparkles brighter than gold itself.”

On Tuesday, the price of 24-karat gold hit ₹1,00,000 per 10 grams in Mumbai’s bullion market. The 22-karat variant followed close at ₹91,600. 

The surge tracks global trends—international gold prices soared to $3,486.85 per troy ounce—as financial markets reeled from US President Donald Trump’s threat to overhaul the Federal Reserve.

Gold has gained nearly 59% since March 2024. A weakening US dollar, driven by investor anxiety around inflation, tariffs, and Trump’s increasingly confrontational stance on the Fed, has accelerated the rush towards the yellow metal. Trump’s repeated criticism of the Fed, and his threat to sack its chair, triggered a collapse in investor confidence, sending the dollar to its lowest since 2022.

Experts say the resulting uncertainty has boosted gold’s appeal as a stable store of value. Meanwhile, central bank buying—particularly from China—has added further momentum.

India, the world’s second-largest gold market after China, saw demand climb to 802.8 tonnes in 2024, up from 761 tonnes the previous year. In value terms, gold consumption jumped 31% to ₹5.15 lakh crore, according to data from the World Gold Council.

In Indian households, gold has long served as more than ornamentation. It’s often pledged to fund medical needs or education expenses. Experts believe economic slowdown in recent months has driven a rise in gold loans—made even more accessible by fintech platforms and digital lenders expanding into smaller towns.