“With only 3% of India’s population, Kerala gobbles up 20% of the country’s gold every year, and the World Gold Council estimates that India, the largest consumer of gold in the world, consumes 30% of the global supply. 200,000 people are employed in the gold industry in this tiny state. Such is the love of gold in Kerala that there may be no household without some gold, tucked away as savings, either to be given away as wedding gifts for daughters or to raise cash by way of gold loans or outright sale. Muthoot, the largest lender, prides itself in completing a transaction within three minutes, and its branches can be seen on every corner in Kerala.”
http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/24/kerala-golds-own-country/
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