 "Gold bonds worth 14 tonnes sold in six tranches: Govt")
The government has collected 5.73 tonnes of gold under the gold monetisation scheme, launched a year ago to mobilise idle gold lying with Indian households, the finance ministry said in Parliament on Friday. But, the government did not clarify how much of it was deposited by temple trusts, how much by households and what part of it was renewal of gold deposited under a previous scheme. Data was collected up to November 14.
The sovereign gold bond scheme, however, has met with more success, with six tranches or six issues of sovereign gold bonds being issued so far. The total collection, the government said, came to 14.071 tonnes worth of gold, with bonds amounting to Rs 4,127 crore, being subscribed to.
A press note issued by the finance ministry said while “there are no firm statistics with the government regarding the quantum and value of gold” in the possession of public and with private gold loan lending companies, it is estimated that more than 20,000 tonnes of gold was held by households, trusts and other institutions. The latest estimates by the World Gold Council, however, suggest gold with Indian households and temples would be around 24,000 tonnes.
