National News
Voluntary gold, silver pledges to boost MSME, agri sector lending
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has introduced a significant change that is set to boost priority sector lending to both the agriculture sector and micro-enterprises.
Banks can now voluntarily accept gold as collateral for loans up to ₹10 lakh, a move expected to simplify credit access for farmers and small business owners. This clarification regarding the classification of gold-backed loans within priority sector lending aims to encourage banks to extend more credit to these vital segments of the economy.
The directive ensures that borrowers who voluntarily pledge personal gold or silver assets retain access to collateral-free loan benefits and terms. This prevents inadvertent disqualification from favorable lending conditions due to security provision. The directive is expected to reduce rural dependence on informal moneylenders by providing formal banking alternatives with comparable speed and accessibility.
The change is expected to enhance financial inclusion. In rural India, gold remains the most liquid household asset. By allowing its use as security, banks can process loans faster, especially critical during sowing seasons or emergencies. Gold-backed loans are easier to disburse, reducing dependence on informal moneylenders and tightening repayment discipline.
In 2023, the RBI had asked banks to classify all loans that were advanced against the security of jewellery as ‘gold loans’.However, this reclassification also meant that banks would need to apply the stricter repayment norms that are applicable to gold loans, unlike loans to farmers, where some flexibility is provided for the seasonality of income. Because of the reclassification, the gold loan portfolio of public sector banks almost doubled last year.
Banks, in turn, benefit from a lower risk profile. Secured lending makes it easier to expand credit to underserved rural borrowers. The move could also help banks meet priority sector lending goals. The rules permit only physical gold and silver, such as jewellery, ornaments and coins, as collateral. Financial products like gold ETFs, mutual funds, or digital gold are excluded. This distinction aims to keep volatility in check and lending standards robust
National News
Antistatus and Vandals: Jewellery For The Rebellious and The Defiant
These Brands Are Chasing A Consumer Who Has Grown Allergic To Templates.They Do Not Want Jewellery Merely To Signal Wealth, Marital Status Or Social Approval; They Want It To Signal Taste, Nerve and A Point Of View.
Status? Overrated. Rebellion? Wearable

Antistatus and Vandals are turning jewellery from a badge of conformity into a weapon of self-definition. One is a newly launched statement-silver label with a “Defy the Norm” manifesto; the other is a Mumbai-based avant-garde brand that treats every piece like graffiti. Together, they signal a shift: rebellion is no longer just a mood board—it is the product.
Antistatus: Status, Rewritten
Launched by former VIDA executives Manav Sethi and Pallavi Singh, Antistatus is a statement silver jewellery and lifestyle brand built around a deceptively simple idea: status is not assigned by society; it is defined by you.
The collection leans into biker culture, gothic aesthetics, music and street culture—think handcrafted statement rings, pendants, necklaces, bracelets and belt buckles with enough edge to make a boardroom feel like a back alley. The brand begins with men’s-focused, gender-neutral jewellery, then plans to expand into eyewear, bags and accessories.
Its pitch is not “look expensive.” It is “look like yourself.” Antistatus wants to build a community of people whose identity is theirs to define, not something society hands them with a dress code attached.
Vandals: Luxury with Spray Paint on Its Fingers

Vandals, founded by Vandana M. Jagwani, has been operating from a similarly unruly corner of Indian jewellery. The Mumbai label draws from street art, using jewellery as a way to question the status quo and leave a personal mark.
Its manifesto is explicit: artistic rebellion meets craftsmanship, and luxury is reimagined for “daring souls who defy the norm.” The brand blurs art and jewellery, positioning its audacious designs and sustainable practices as an alternative to safe, predictable luxury.
Where conventional fine jewellery often whispers heritage, Vandals prefers to shout individuality. Every piece is framed as a personal story—less “heirloom in a velvet box,” more “artwork that refuses to behave.”
The New Consumer: Anti-Template, Pro-Story
These brands are chasing a consumer who has grown allergic to templates. They do not want jewellery merely to signal wealth, marital status or social approval; they want it to signal taste, nerve and a point of view.
| Brand | Core attitude | Design language | Consumer promise |
| Antistatus | Defy the norm | Biker, gothic, music and street-inspired handcrafted silver | Define your own status |
| Vandals | Rebellion against the ordinary | Street-art-inspired, avant-garde, sustainable luxury | Leave your own mark |
Both are selling permission. Permission to wear silver that looks dangerous. Permission to reject the idea that polish equals propriety. Permission to make luxury feel personal rather than prescribed.
Why This Matters for Indian Jewellery
India’s jewellery market has long been dominated by occasion-led buying—weddings, festivals, gifting and investment. Antistatus and Vandals are carving out a different lane: everyday identity jewellery, where the purchase is emotional, stylistic and cultural rather than ceremonial.
Antistatus’s ambition to become an India-origin premium lifestyle brand with global reach suggests that rebellion is being treated as an exportable design language, not a passing trend. Vandals already demonstrates that Indian consumers will respond when jewellery carries ideology as well as sparkle.
The Verdict
Antistatus and Vandals are proof that the most compelling jewellery today is not necessarily the quietest. It is the kind that starts a conversation, breaks a rule and makes conformity look like the boring option.
In their hands, a ring is not just an accessory. It is a small, shining refusal.From statement silver with a streetwise edge to avant-garde pieces with graffiti in their soul, this is jewellery for the beautifully defiant.
Antistatus and Vandals are proving that the boldest jewellery isn’t made to blend in—it’s made to break rules, start conversations and define you on your own terms.
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