Skip to content

The Indian gold calendar, and what it does to the price

India buys gold on a schedule older than any exchange, and two days of that calendar account for an extraordinary share of the year's jewellery sales. Whether that schedule is a good time to buy is a separate question from whether it is a meaningful one — and the honest answer to each is different.

Festivals & cultureBeginner3 min readUpdated 24 September 2026
SHUBH MUHURAT

The days that matter

OccasionWhenWhat happens
Akshaya TritiyaApril–MayConsidered the most auspicious day of the year to begin something; among the single largest gold-buying days in India
DhanterasOctober–November, before DiwaliBuying metal is the ritual itself; jewellers run their heaviest counters of the year
Navratri & Pushya NakshatraVariousRegionally strong buying days, especially in the west and south
Wedding seasonRoughly November–February and April–JuneThe steady bulk of Indian demand — jewellery bought as a family's savings, not as decoration

“Akshaya” means imperishable. The belief is that what is begun or bought on that day endures and multiplies, which is why it attaches so naturally to metal — the one purchase in an Indian household that has historically behaved exactly that way.

Does the price actually rise on these days?

Less than folklore suggests. The global price is set in dollars by a market that does not observe Dhanteras, so the international component of your rate is unmoved. What does move is the local premium — the small markup over landed cost that Indian dealers charge when demand spikes — and jewellers' making charges, which are at their least negotiable on the busiest day of the year.

How digital gold sits in this

  • The rate is the rate. You buy at the live bullion price plus 3% GST, on a festival day exactly as on any Tuesday. No making charge, no festival counter, no queue.
  • Any amount works. A ₹101 Akshaya Tritiya purchase is a real gram-fraction of real gold, which makes the ritual available to people for whom a coin never was.
  • It can become the coin later. Buy on the day, redeem it as a certified coin when you need the object — for a wedding, or a gift.
The custom is about beginning something. A recurring purchase started on the day keeps that idea going for the rest of the year, which is arguably closer to the original point.

Gifting gold

Gold moves between families constantly in India, and digital gold makes the small end of that practical: a gift can be a few hundred rupees of metal rather than a coin nobody wanted to buy in ones. Note that gifts of gold can have tax consequences for the recipient depending on the relationship and the value — gifts from specified relatives are generally exempt. For anything substantial, check before, not after.

Questions people ask

Is gold more expensive on Akshaya Tritiya?

The underlying bullion price is set globally and does not respond to the Indian calendar, but local premiums and jewellers' making charges tend to be at their highest on peak demand days.

Can I buy digital gold on Akshaya Tritiya at the same rate as any other day?

Yes. Digital gold is priced off the live bullion rate plus 3% GST, with no making charge, so a festival day carries no special markup.

How much gold should I buy on Dhanteras?

Traditionally the amount is symbolic rather than financial. Treat it as ritual spending you had planned, not as an allocation decision — and keep your actual gold allocation on its own schedule.

Written by the Ticgetz Gold team and reviewed before publication. It is general information about how digital gold works in India, not investment or tax advice, and rules change — check the date above. Rates quoted anywhere on this site are live market rates and are not a forecast.

Pillar

This is the piece that covers the whole of festivals & culture. The 0 articles below go further into corners of it.

Read next