The political scientist assessed India's repatriation of gold reserves

The G7's decision to freeze approximately $300 billion of the Bank of Russia's international reserves became a historic milestone that influenced the desire of developing countries to return their assets. It proved that even the most reliable and apolitical assets can be used as a tool in a geopolitical confrontation. This was stated on November 1 by Ilona Mizova, a political scientist and expert in world politics, in an interview with Izvestia.

India is no exception. The management of the Reserve Bank of India explains the transfer of gold to the country by having its own vaults, calling it a standard procedure. However, until September 2022, the state kept twice as much precious metal abroad, and it is impossible not to consider its repatriation as a powerful political signal reflecting a shift in the global paradigm of financial security, the editorial's interlocutor is sure.

"By returning gold, India protects it from the risk of unilateral sanctions or political blackmail, gradually depriving Western partners of leverage. For such an ambitious and, despite years of colonization and democratization, strategically independent country, dependence on the infrastructure of potentially hostile blocs began to be perceived as an unacceptable risk," explains Misova.

The probability that India's actions will create a stable trend is extremely high, the political scientist believes. And the contours of this process are already being observed — several other central banks are monitoring the return of gold.

"The world is moving from a global, centralized financial system to a fragmented and regionalized one. The return of gold is a vote for a new global security architecture where sovereignty and protection from external pressure will be valued above all else. Before our eyes, gold is once again becoming not only a financial asset, but also an act of sovereign will. Hopefully, in the near future we will be able to observe other "returns" of reserves from bank vaults to the national citadels of new centers of power," Misova sums up.

Read more about the trend towards gold repatriation in the Izvestia article.

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