India, Jan. 24 -- As Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman readies to present a record eight Union Budget in a row, excluding an interim one, she needs to grapple with a glittering issue that seems to be perpetually in the grey. No, she does not need to worry much about the high gold prices, now ruling at Rs 1,60,000 per 10 grams, or whether she and her family wish to buy the bullion.

But experts feel that the country needs to find a solution to the growing imports of legal and illegal gold. Both have an adverse impact on the economy in different ways. Both can derail the FM's economic vision for the future.

Recent media reports indicate that the Indian bullion dealers have begun to charge a premium of more than $110, over and above the o...