Diwali Special: Modi to launch 4 new gold schemes this week

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch four gold related schemes on Thursday, an official statement said. Modi will launch the Gold Monetisation Scheme, Gold Sovereign Bond Scheme, Gold Coin Scheme and Gold Bullion Scheme, a finance ministry statement said.  According to the statement, the gold monetisation scheme will replace the existing Gold Deposit Scheme, 1999 while the existing deposits will be allowed to run till maturity or premature withdrawal by depositors. The minimum deposit at any one time shall be raw gold (bars, coins, jewellery excluding stones and other metals) equivalent to 30 grams of gold of 995 fineness. There is no maximum limit for deposit under the scheme. As per the scheme, the gold will be accepted at the Collection and Purity Testing Centres (CPTC) certified by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and notified by the central government. The deposit certificates will be issued by banks in equivalence of 995 fineness of gold. The principal and interest of the deposit under the scheme will be denominated in gold. The designated banks will accept gold deposits under the Short Term (1-3 years) Bank Deposit (STBD) as well as Medium (5-7 years) and Long (12-15 years) Term Government Deposit Schemes. While the former will be accepted by banks on their own account, the latter will be on behalf of the government. There will be provision for premature withdrawal subject to a minimum lock-in period and penalty to be determined by individual banks. Interest on deposits under the scheme will start accruing from the date of conversion of gold deposited into tradable gold bars after refinement or 30 days after the receipt of gold at the CPTC or the bank’s designated branch, as the case may be and whichever is earlier. Under the Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will issue the bonds on behalf of the central government. The RBI has fixed the issue price for the first tranche of Sovereign Gold Bond at Rs.2,684 per gram of gold based on simple average of closing price of gold of 999 purity of the previous week (October 26-30, 2015) published by the Indian Bullion and Jewellers Association Ltd. The gold bonds will be denominated in multiples of gram(s) of gold with a basic unit of one gram while the minimum investment limit is two grams. The maximum subscription is 500 grams per person per fiscal (April-March) and for joint holders, the limit will be applied on the first holder. As per the scheme, the gold bonds will be sold only to resident Indian entities including individuals, Hindu undivided families, trusts, universities, and charitable institutions. As per the scheme, the bond tenure will be eight years with exit option beginning the fifth year onwards. The bonds will also be tradable in the bourses. The rate of interest will be 2.75 percent per annum payable semi-annually on the initial value of investment. Bonds can be used as collateral for loans. The loan-to-value (LTV) ratio is to be set equal to ordinary gold loan mandated by the Reserve Bank from time to time. The Gold Coin and Gold Bullion Schemes are part of gold monetisation programme. The coin will be the first ever national gold coin and will have the national emblem (Ashok Chakra) engraved on one side. Initially the coins will be available in denominations of 5 and 10 grams. A 20 gram bar/bullion will also be available. Initially, 15,000 coins of 5gm, 20,000 coins of 10 gm and 3,750 bullion bars will be made available through MMTC outlets. IANS