Page 22 - Bullion World Issue 01 Volume 06 January_2026

Bullion World | Volume 6 | Issue 01 | January 2026

Mr Surendra Mehta,
National Secretary, IBJA

Industry Responsibility and the Path
Forward
Mr Surendra Mehta framed the discussion from
an industry and policy perspective. He described
RBI’s move as visionary, noting that silver’s price
performance has since validated the regulator’s
foresight.

Rather than focusing on constraints, he urged
the industry to collaborate proactively. He warned
that without preventive measures; purity disputes
could undermine confidence between lenders and
borrowers. He emphasized the lack of consumer
awareness around silver purity and suggested
mandatory purity disclosure on invoices as an
immediate, achievable safeguard-especially since
Mr Surendra Mehta
hallmarking infrastructure is still limited.

“Instead of telling RBI there are challenges, the
industry must come together and find solutions
so that the consumer does not suffer.” In his view,
silver’s transition into an asset class is inevitable. The
question is whether the industry shapes that transition
responsibly.

Mr James Jose,
President- Hallmarking Federation of India

SOPs and Accountability
Mr James Jose highlighted the need for clear and
practical SOPs under RBI’s silver-lending framework.
He questioned how lenders should define assaying
and valuation methods, and who bears responsibility
if disputes arise. Without simple, auditable SOPs,
he cautioned, branch-level execution could become
inconsistent, increasing operational risk and weakening
borrower confidence in silver-backed loans.

Some recommendations that emerged from the
discussion
1. Unlike gold, large portion of silver is held as silver
bullion. Silver as jewellery is not popular across
the country. In the light of challenges such as Mr James Jose
heterogeneity of silver jewellery and ornaments, it
is better to start lending against silver coins which 3. Industry body should join together and develop a
are more standardized. SOP for measuring purity of silver alloy in silver
2. Request can be made to RBI to consider permitting jewellery and silver ornament form. It can then be
“Primary silver”(silver bars) shared with regulatory for adoption.

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