RBI amends Gold Monetisation Scheme to make it more attractive

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has made changes in the Gold Monetisation Scheme (GMS) of 2015 to enable people to open a hassle-free gold deposit account. In a notification issued yesterday, RBI said that the short-term deposits should be treated as bank's on-balance sheet liability. 

It further said that these deposits will be made with the designated banks for a short period of 1-3 years (with a facility of rollover). While deposits can also be allowed for broken periods (e.g. 1 year 3 months; 2 years 4 months 5 days or other.

RBI added that the interest rate payable in the case of deposits for maturities with broken periods should be calculated as the sum of interest for the completed year plus interest for the



number of remaining days.

In 2015, the government launched the GMS with the objective of mobilising the gold held by households and institutions in the country.

The apex bank also said that the Medium Term Government Deposit (MTGD) can be made for 5-7 years and Long-Term Government Deposit (LTGD) for 12-15 years or for such period as may be decided by the Central Government from time to time. Deposits can also be allowed for broken periods (e.g. 5 years 7 months; 13 years 4 months 15 days; etc.).

The scheme allows banks' customers to deposit their idle gold holdings for a fixed period in return for interest in the range of 2.25 percent to 2.50 percent.