The only way to decrease fiscal deficit is to tone down on the populist government scheme, like RTE, NREGA, etc. It is not the governments' duty to dictate how people should live their lives. The last time they tried this, the gold control system facilitated the emergence of characters like Haji mastan,and the thriving underground smuggling network. People will buy gold whether the Government likes it or not. Our purchase of gold will help us in the future. We can assist in reducing the import bill by (1) Trading in Rupees ,like we are doing with the Iranians ,and (2) Exploration of new oil and natural gas fields within India.