New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday launched gold monetisation scheme and sovereign gold bond scheme to wean away Indians from the allure of physical gold towards financial instruments for investment and saving. The tradition of buying gold means that it is India’s second-biggest expense on the import bill after oil as the country consumes nearly 1,000 tonnes of the precious yellow metal every year.
PM said India has no reason to be described as a poor country, as it has 20,000 tonnes of gold. He said the gold available with the country should be put to productive use, and these schemes show us the way to achieve this goal. “And we are such a poor country which has 20,000 tonnes of gold ..... Perhaps the reason of our being poor is that 20,000 tonnes of gold is sitting idle. This is why there is no reason for India to remain poor,” said Mr Modi. He said that if “we try in a correct direction we can remove” this tag of being poor country. Recalling India’s tradition of savings and culture of empowering women with gold, Mr Modi said in a lighter vein, even the RBI governor will have to recognise the difference between “arthashastra (economics) and grahshastra (home economics).”
He also unveiled the first ever Indian gold coin and bullion, bearing national emblem Ashok Chakra on one side and Mahatma Gandhi’s image on the other side.
FM Arun Jaitley said that gold lying with an individual can be a personal savings but it does not contribute in the development of the country. He said that from now on, gold will not only be an instrument of security but will also give earnings and will become part of nation building. The finance minister said the import of gold will come down with the launch of these gold related three schemes on Thursday.
The applications for Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme will be accepted from November 5 to November 20. The bonds will be issued on November 26.
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