New Delhi: For the first time after its independence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday India will mint and sell its own gold coins with the Ashok Chakra. “I am also happy to announce that we will be bringing out gold coins with the Ashok Chakra. It has been 70 years since Independence, but till now we are using foreign gold coins or gold bullion bars which is also used by foreigners,” Mr Modi said during his Man Ki Baat programme.
Currently, India imports gold coins from foreign countries. In the United States, US Mint sells gold coins, which have Eagle embossed. Royal Mint of the UK also produces gold coins.
As far as the Sovereign Gold Bonds scheme is concerned, Mr Modi said people will not get any gold bar but a piece of paper which will have the same value as that of gold.
“When you return that piece of paper, you will get money as per the value of gold at that time... We are going to initiate this.” Because of this, he said, one would not need to buy gold and worry about where to keep it. It will be a matter of just a piece of paper which “nobody will come to steal”, he said.
Mr Modi on Sunday asked people to earn interest on idle gold by depositing the precious metal in banks under the gold monetisation scheme. “We have brought the gold monetisation scheme. Under this, you can deposit your gold in a bank and the bank will pay interest to you for that like on your cash,” Mr Modi said.
As per the traditional practice, he said, people keep gold in lockers, for which they have to pay banks. “Now, keep gold in the bank and bank will pay you in the form of interest. Now say, will gold not be an asset? Can gold not transform from dead money to live power? This is what we have to do. You support me,” Mr Modi appealed.
The Prime Minister noted that keeping gold in banks will have two benefits — security and interest. “You must take the benefit.” However, experts argue that gold monetisation scheme could run into rough weather due to lack of BIS recognised hall-marking centres across the country.
“Though the proposed scheme carries positive attributes such as a low minimum deposition quantity, tax exemptions, etc., its success rests on certain pre-requisites such as standardisation norms for gold, certification standards for refineries, infrastructural framework such as purity testing and assaying centres, marketplace for seamless buying and selling of gold,” said NCDEX managing director and CEO Samir Shah.
