2024-08-08 07:01:57
New Delhi: The government has reduced the target of issuing sovereign gold bonds for this financial year by 38%. A senior official said that due to the arrival of better options, investors have lost interest in it. Now the government is planning to issue ‘paper gold’ worth ₹ 18,500 crore in 2024-25. ₹ 29,638 crore was estimated in the interim budget and ₹ 26,852 crore (revised estimate) in 2023-24. The official told the Economic Times on the condition of anonymity that this decision has been taken keeping in mind many things. This includes investor demand, other investment products and uncertainties in the global economy. The situation has changed since the interim budget in February. The Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme was started in 2015. Harish Galipelli, Director, ILA Commodities India, said that many retail investors are now investing in equity. They hope that they will get better returns from this. Harish says that investors are unsure whether gold prices will move further (in the short-medium term) after the rise in the last few years. Similarly, retail inflation and other factors have affected the savings of people in rural areas. The government launched the Gold Bond and Gold Monetization Scheme in late 2015. Its purpose was to reduce the physical purchase of gold and reduce imports.
Gold is being imported by throwing dust in the eyes, the government is losing Rs 63,375 crore annually
what was the purpose
This will reduce the impact on the country’s current account deficit. The aim of the Gold Monetisation Scheme is to increase the domestic supply by removing the idle gold held by households, trusts and others. Both these schemes were created to reduce gold imports. Along with crude oil, gold imports contribute a lot to India’s current account deficit.
A total of ₹20,030 crore has been targeted from these two schemes. This is for 2024-25. The figure was ₹31,168 crore in the interim budget, and ₹28,240 crore in the previous financial year (revised estimate). Similarly, the net collection is estimated to be ₹16,433 crore. The figure was ₹27,571 crore in the interim budget and ₹26,653 crore last year. The gold bond scheme is aimed at attracting investment from people who see gold as an investment. This will help them buy paper gold instead of physical gold.