In America-Britain, is India’s gold locked in a 90 ton steel cylinder in the underworld, why is our gold reserves in a foreign vault?

by times news cr

New Delhi: The desire of us Indians for gold is not hidden from the world. However, India‘s gold reserves have now increased by $1.786 billion to $67.444 billion as of October. As of July 2024, the total gold reserves with RBI were 846 tonnes. This increase before Dhanteras may give you peace, but you will be surprised to know that a large part of India’s gold reserves are kept abroad. The country’s central bank i.e. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) keeps India’s gold reserves in the Bank of England, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in Basil, Switzerland and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York of America. Let us know how and why this gold reserve is kept in foreign safes.

Gold gives confidence during a war like Israel-Iran

India has recently increased its gold purchases significantly. In the first four months of 2024, India has acquired one and a half times more gold than in the entire previous year. Holding gold abroad makes it easier for India to trade, engage in swaps and earn returns. However, the risk also increases during wars like Israel-Iran, Russia-Ukraine. This gold gives confidence even in such difficult situations.

RBI brought back 100 tonnes of gold kept in Britain

Recently, RBI has succeeded in bringing back 100 tonnes of gold kept in Britain. This much more gold still needs to be brought. It is being told that these steps are being taken to save from the huge cost of keeping gold in a foreign bank.

More than 400 tonnes of gold in foreign safes

According to the Reserve Bank report, out of the total gold reserves, about 414 metric tonnes is kept abroad. Over 308 metric tonnes of gold is held to back notes issued in India, while over 100 tonnes of gold is held locally as banking department assets. The locally held gold is kept in high security safes or vaults in Mumbai and Nagpur.

Why is gold kept, what is its purpose?

Gold kept by the central bank of a country is called gold reserve. Its purpose is to guarantee the fulfillment of payment promises to depositors, note holders, investors or traders. It also strengthens the value of that country’s currency.

RBI in top 5 countries of the world in purchasing gold

According to the World Gold Council (WGC), RBI is one of the top 5 central banks in the world buying gold. Many central banks such as the Monetary Authority of Singapore, People’s Bank of China and Turkey are buying gold to offset falling dollar prices, falling interest rates and to diversify their forex reserves.

Why is gold kept in foreign safes?

Many countries of the world, including India, keep a large part of their gold reserves in foreign safes. This is done so that stability can be maintained in terms of political, economic and security and their risks can be reduced. Gold held in major financial centers like London, New York and Zurich can be easily used in international transactions. A large part of India’s gold reserves are kept in the Bank of England and the Bank for International Settlements. The reason for this is also the historical relations with Britain and America, which have increased trust in them.

How do these foreign safes work?

In America and England, such safes or vaults have many layers of high security. It has four strong granite walls, CCTV smart cameras, alarms, armed guards and a security cordon of army personnel and police, where even a bird cannot hit.

Gold reserves are kept in steel cylinders 80 feet below.

Gold reserves of many countries are also kept in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Located 80 feet below the road, this store is enclosed in a 90 ton steel cylinder, which is no less than a netherworld. In addition to Deutsche Bundesbank in Frankfurt, Germany, Banque de France in Paris, BIS in Switzerland, there are also Swiss National Bank and Zurich Vault. They remain under strict surveillance day and night.

3 times more gold in temples than American treasury

There is so much gold in the treasury of temples in India that it is three times more than the treasury of the American government. God likes gold so much in temples that 4000 tonnes of gold is kept in temples like Padmanabha Swamy Temple, Tirupati Balaji Temple, Jagannath Temple, Vaishno Devi Temple. This data is from the World Gold Council. India’s gold reserve may be more than 800 tonnes, but we Indians love gold so much that we have saved more than 25 thousand tonnes of gold. This is almost three times the 8,965 tonnes of America, which has the largest gold reserve in the world.

Oceans are filled with 20 million tons of gold

According to a website named Gold.RG, there is so much gold on earth that if a wire as thin as 5 microns is made from it, it can be wrapped around the entire world 11 million times. Not only this, there is no continent on earth where there is no gold. Even all the oceans are full of gold. According to estimates, there are about 20 million tons of gold lying in all the oceans of the world. 1 gram of gold is found in every 100 million metric tons of sea water. The chances of finding gold are highest in the Atlantic and North Pacific oceans.

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