Trading in Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme to start by May-end: Finance Ministry

The government has decided to start the trading in Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme by the end of May month, according to the Press Information Bureau (PIB) release on Monday.

Finance Ministry took the decision at a review meeting of gold-related schemes held on May 13 under the chairmanship of Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das.
 
"On the Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme, it was discussed that tradability of the bonds will be started by the end of May and the fourth tranche of the SGB will be launched soon," Finance Ministry said in a statement.

This means that listing of bonds on the stock exchanges will provide more liquidity into the economy. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the gold related schemes-- Gold Monetisation Scheme (GMS) and Sovereign Bond Scheme (SBS)--on November 5, 2015. 

Further, the Finance Ministry in a statement said  the total gold collected under the short-term bank deposit and medium and long-term government deposit is 2,891 kilograms. 

In a meeting, Das asked the banks to put concerted efforts to mobilise more gold under the GMS in order to achieve the scheme's objectives and to increase the number of tripartite and bipartite agreements with Collection and Purity Verification Centers (CPTCs) and refiners.

He also asked banks to adopt a practical approach while asking for guarantees or collaterals from the Collection and Purity Verification Centers (CPTCs).

Moreover, it was decided in a meeting that Indian Banks' Association (IBA) in association with World Gold Council (WGC) will design an exhaustive media campaign with the support of the government to further enhance investments in these schemes.