With reference to the report, "Tirupati to deposit 2.3 tonnes of gold" (March 23), Tirupati, one of the richest temples which is known for its transparency of operations, had deposited a part of its gold stock with the State Bank of India a long time back. Other organisations, including temples and trusts, with considerable gold or jewellery in their vaults should also transfer a part of their stock to schemes such as the Gold Monetisation Scheme of the government of India.
There are three advantages to this: (i) less cost on arranging security for the stock of valuables; (ii) opportunity to earn recurring income (80 kg of gold earned as interest by the Tirupati temple on a deposit of 4.5 tonnes of gold is no small income); (iii) participate in nation-building, as reduced import bills will save money, which can be used in sectors of national priority. Now that gold management schemes are gaining public acceptance, the Reserve Bank of India and the government need to make them more attractive by providing incentives to investors; for those who hold on to their undeclared gold possessions there should be disincentives. The first steps could include assessment of domestic gold stock and recovery of part of the costs for providing security to stocks from those who hold on to them.
M G Warrier, Mumbai
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