Government to get Rs 726cr via 2nd tranche of gold bond scheme

“Second tranche of Gold Bond Scheme: About 3.16 lakh applications for 2,790 kgs gold involving subscription of Rs 726 crore received,” Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das tweeted. 

The first tranche of the scheme, which was launched in November, had received a subscription for 915.95 kg of gold worth Rs 246 crore. As many as 62,169 applications had come for the first tranche. 

“Second tranche of Gold Bonds: Outcome significantly better than first tranche. Scheme picking up,” Das said in another tweet. The second tranche of gold bond scheme, which opened for subscription on January 18, closed on January 22. The bonds would be alloted on February 8. 

The gold bonds are issued in denominations of 5 grams, 10 grams, 50 grams and 100 grams for a term of 5-7 years with a rate of interest to be calculated on the value of the metal at the time of investment. The scheme has an annual cap of 500 grams per person. In order to hard sell gold bonds, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had earlier this month asked banks to make their best efforts to reach out to potential investors to invest in the second tranche of sovereign gold bonds. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on November 5 launched gold schemes to wean investors away from physical gold. The scheme is aimed at reducing demand for gold in physical form by encouraging people to buy the commodity in demat or the paper form. 

India imports about 1,000 tonnes of gold every year and the precious metal is the second-highest constituent of the import bill after crude oil. During this fiscal, gold imports increased to USD 26.45 billion as against USD 25.85 billion in the same period last year.