New Delhi: Mining mogul Anil Agarwal on Friday said India can be a major producer of gold if it privatises PSUs Bharat Gold Mines and Hutti Gold Mines.The statement comes days after the Union Budget 2024-25 proposed reducing customs duty to six per cent from 15 per cent on gold. “We import 99.9 per cent of our requirement.

With massive investments, we can be a major producer of gold and a big generator of employment,” Agarwal, who is Vedanta chairman, posted on X. The best way forward is the government privatising the two sole producers of gold -- Bharat Gold Mines and Hutti Gold Mines, he explained.

He also said privatisation should happen with three conditions -- there should be no retrenchment, some equity should be given to employees, and it should be done as it is without any attempt to parcel assets into different parts.