The government has decided to issue the fourth tranche of gold bonds. The applications for the same will be accepted from July 18 to July 22.
An official release on Thursday stated that the bonds will be issued on August 5. The gold bond scheme was launched by the government last November.
Expressing satisfaction in investors’ response to gold bonds at an event organised by FICCI, finance minister Arun Jaitley said, “Gold bonds are doing well.”
Meanwhile, the Centre on Thursday said it has mobilised 3.1 tonne of idle household and temple gold under the monetisation scheme since its launch in November 2015.
“As of now 3.1 tonne of gold (has been) deposited under the gold monetisation scheme,” said Saurabh Garg, joint secretary, finance ministry.
This is much lower than 800-1,000 tonnes of annual gold import, he said, adding that estimates say 300 tonne are for investments, while the balance is jewellery.
“We are hoping that the investment part can shift to the gold monetisation plan,” he added. Under the scheme, banks are authorised to collect gold for up to 15 years to auction them off or lend to jewellers.
Depositors will earn up to 2.50 per cent interest per annum, a rate lower than savings bank deposits.Currently, there are 46 assaying and hallmarking centres, which are qualified to act as collection and purity testing centres (CPTC) for handling gold under the scheme. All gold deposits under the scheme have to be made at CPTCs. Banks can also accept deposits at designated branches, especially from larger depositors.
As per an estimate, India imports about 1,000 tonnes of gold every year and the yellow metal is the second-highest component of the imports bill after crude oil. An estimated 20,000 tonne of gold are lying with households and temples.