"The scheme has already grossed up Rs 145 crore as of today and we expect the scheme to end with Rs 150 crore by the end of the day tomorrow," a senior public sector banker told PTI this evening.
The banker also said that the numbers look reasonably good considering that this is the limited period offer and that a maiden one.
On the other hand, it has been reported that the monetisation has failed with only around 400 gm being deposited so far.
It could be recalled that on November 5, Modi had launched two gold schemes - a mega gold monetisation scheme aimed at getting a large chunk of idling 20,000 tonnes of gold jewellery with households and temples worth Rs 52 trillion into bank vaults; and a gold bond scheme that offers 2.75 per cent interest to buyers, to curb its imports that have made the country the largest buyer of gold in the world.
Also Read
Modi had unveiled the maiden gold coin and bullion, bearing national emblem Ashok Chakra on one side and Mahatma Gandhi's image engraved on the other side.
(Reopens BOM24)
Initially, the coins will be available in denominations of 5 and 10 grams. A 20 gram bullion will also be available through 125 MMTC outlets.
Under the gold monetisation scheme, banks will collect gold for up to 15 years to auction them off or lend to jewellers from time to time. Depositors will earn up to 2.50 per cent interest per annum, a rate lower than bank deposits.
The RBI had fixed the gold bonds issue price at Rs 2,684 per gram, which is aimed at providing an alternative to buying physical gold, and also fixed an interest rate of 2.75 per cent and a choice to buy bonds worth 2 grams of gold, up to a maximum of 500 grams.