Badhai Ho!

Ladki Hui hain.

Laxmi aayi hain.

 

I am privileged to be living in the age where I have witnessed the society transform from female infanticide to welcoming her as a goddess.

I, however, cannot deny that there is a long way to go for a daughter to be seen equivalent to a son. For instance, old school aunts leave no stone unturned in advising tips on saving up for the child’s wedding, which is seen as the utmost important duty towards her.

 

The most common advice imparted is to accumulate gold jewellery, a little at a time every year, as an investment towards the wedding. The ever-increasing gold prices are a testament to the outlook.  I personally have seen my mother do the exact thing for me and my sibling. Come wedding, neither I nor my sister wanted to wear the outdated designs my mother had got made. This led to selling of the jewellery to purchase newer designs. There was a huge collateral damage in the form of wastage, impurity, making charges, unused precious stones and many more. I wonder if it was a good investment at all.

 

Recently, I learnt about Sovereign Gold Bonds. These are simple bonds equivalent to the cost of per gram of 24 Kt gold. On comparison, I found several benefits of SGB over physical gold. Below, I have listed some points to note about SGBs.

With so many advantages over physical gold, I vouch that SGBs are undoubtedly the better investment option.

Without doubt, I will continue availing it for my daughter year on year.