The government has increased the import duty on gold and platinum from 4 per cent to 6 per cent with immediate effect. Breifing newsmen in New Delhi, Economic Affairs Secretary, Arvind Mayaram said, the decision is aimed to rein in spending on gold and reduce government's import bill. Gold is the biggest contributor to the import bill after crude oil. The government also appealed to the people to moderate demand for gold. He said the duties will be reviewed after sometime, if there is a moderation in the quantity of gold that is imported into the country. Gold imports in 2011-12 amounted to 56.5 billion US Dollars. In the current fiscal year, up to December, Gold imports were estimated at 38 billion US Dollars.Mr. Mayaram also said, the government has decided that the Gold Exchange Traded Fund scheme (Gold ETF) and the Gold Deposit Scheme will be linked. He said, the objective is to unfreeze or release a part of the gold physically held by mutual funds under Gold ETF's and enable them to deposit the Gold with banks under the Gold Deposit Scheme.