Page 8 - Bullion World Volume 03 Issue 07 July 2022

Bullion World | Volume 5 | Issue 09 | September 2025
B ullion W orld | V olume 5 | I ssue 09 | S ep t ember 2025

Golden

loops,

silver

lininGs:

CirCularity

in preCious

Metals

Mr Karthik Krishnan
Head ESG
MMTC-PAMP India Private Limited
Mr Karthik Krishnan

In India, Gold isn’t just a commodity, it is a tradition, a store of value,
and for millions, a source of emotional security. Silver finds wide use in
industrial applications such as solar panels, electrical contacts as well
as in domestic contexts as gifts, ornaments and utensils, while platinum
and palladium power clean technologies and electronics. Precious metals
sit at the intersection of culture, economy, and technology.

India, is one of the world’s largest consumers of gold and silver and
imports majority of its requirements, exposing the economy to price
volatility and forex outflows. Further, rising consumerism is transforming
India into becoming a throw-away society thereby increasing demand
for resources including precious metals. Mining precious metals from
the earth is taxing for the environment, geopolitically complex, resource
intensive and expensive.

Circular economy offers potential solutions to these problems. It
is a framework where products and materials are designed to flow
continuously in closed loops. For precious metals, it means recycling,
reusing, and refining scrap and industrial waste into new, pure metal
ready for the next cycle of use. This is not just an environmental
imperative, for India, it is a pathway to self-reliance, sustainable growth,
and value creation at home.

8 8