As reported by TOI, the PM will launch four gold-related schemes announced in the budget on November 5.
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Noting that accumulating gold as a form of economic security is deeply rooted in India’s social tradition, Modi exhorted people to help convert gold to the nation’s economic strength by joining in various schemes to be launched soon.
“Gold can be converted from dead money to an economic force”. It is traditionally believed so. I don’t think anybody can reduce the love of people for gold. It could include raw gold in the forms of bars, coins and jewellery, excluding stones and other metals, the RBI said.
India is the world’s top consumer of bullion, with many Indians placing high value on the precious metal as jewelry, often given as a gift, and as a store of value. Under the gold schemes, depositors will get interest from the bank on their gold deposits. He noted that as per the traditional practice, people keep gold in lockers, for which they have to pay to banks. Now say, will gold not be an asset? This is what we have to do.
“We are launching it and because of it, we will not have to buy gold, we don’t have to handle gold, we don’t have to worry about where to keep it and no one will come to steal a piece of paper”, Modi said. “Don’t keep gold at home”, he added. “You must take the benefit”.
Modi explained that people will not get any gold bar by investing in this bond but receive a piece of paper which will have the same value as that of gold. But to maintain gold inside the type of money that is dead does not augur well in this era. “Why can’t we have our own?” he said, adding this too, will be done before dhanteras. Paper gold will eliminate the need to buy physical gold for investment, bringing down the need to safeguard it, the prime minister said.
Modi also mentioned the sovereign gold bond scheme, wherein at the time of selling, customers can earn returns according to the current price of gold. Why shouldn’t we have a swadeshi mark? “This is why in the coming weeks, before Dhanteras, these will be available”, Modi said.
The government will start with gold coins of 5 gm and 10 gm with Ashok Chakra. Along with this, 20 gms cold coin will also be available. The idea is to mobilize the thousands of tonnes of gold estimated to be sitting idle in Indian households.
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The coins will weigh 5 gm and 10 gm and the bullion bar will weigh 20gm. Poor returns have dampened interest in similar schemes earlier.
