Gold monetisation scheme to be launched ahead of Dhanteras, says Prime Minister

Mumbai: During his customary address to the nation this Sunday morning on ‘Mann ki Baat’, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the government will launch a gold monetisation scheme ahead of Dhanteras next month.

Along with that, the Prime Minister also talked about the sovereign gold bond scheme, which will let customers buy gold bonds. Also, while selling, the aforementioned scheme will earn customers returns according to the current price of gold.

Further, he said that gold coins of 5 and 10 grams with Ashoka Chakra engraved on it, and a 20 gram bullion coin will be issed.

The scheme, which was initially proposed to be introduced only in select cities, was announced in the Budget this year by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. "The new scheme will allow the depositors of gold to earn interest in their metal accounts and the jewellers to obtain loans in their metal account. Banks/other dealers would also be able to monetise this gold," Jaitley had said.

The proposed scheme is aimed at monetising idle gold held by households and institutions, provide a fillip to the gems and jewellery sector and reduce reliance on import of the metal over time to meet the domestic demand. Under the scheme, the bank interest to the customers will be payable after 30/60 days of opening of the Gold Savings Account.

On October 22, the Reserve Bank of India issued directions on the implementation of the gold monetisation scheme.