As declared earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a gold monetization, a gold bond scheme and also India’s first official gold coin on Thursday at New Delhi.

On this occasion he said “House or any immovable properties or even a car usually named after men in the family but women usually don't own anything. They own gold and it is a matter of their strength for them. Women should be empowered with registering movable properties on their names. Hence, we are introducing this gold bond scheme.”

He further said “It is estimated that India has around 20,000 tons of gold reserves in the form of ornaments with Indians. Then how anyone can say India is a poor country. If we put the gold in our homes there is risk of theft. If we put the gold in bank lockers we have to pay the carrying charges. However, it won’t earn any returns for us. This gold bond schemes will not protect your gold from loss or theft or carrying charges, but also earns you good returns periodically.”

Sovereign gold bond scheme details: Gold bonds will be issued by Reserve Bank of India on behalf of the Government of India. Hence, the gold deposits are highly secured. The bonds are held in the books of the RBI or in demat form eliminating risk of loss of scrip etc. The bonds are also available paper form if the investor opts for it. These bonds are issued in denominations of one gram gold and in multiples thereof.

The Sovereign gold bond can be used as collateral for loans and can be sold or traded on stock exchanges. The tenor of the bond is for a minimum of 8 years. However, investors are allowed to exit in 5the, 6th and 7th years. Investors are assured of the market value of gold at the time of maturity and periodical interest.

The minimum deposit for this scheme is 2 grams and maximum is 500 grams per person per fiscal year. Investor receives the ongoing market price at the time of redemption/ premature redemption. However, there might be a risk of capital loss if the market price of gold declines, though the investor does not lose in terms of the units of gold which he has paid for.

Gold Monetization scheme details: Notified banks will accept gold in any form and in shape from the people. People can choose any of the three different terms for their gold deposits. The Short Term (1-3 years) as any regular bank deposits and for Medium (5-7 years) and Long (12-15 years) Term Government Deposit Schemes.

Coins and bars can earn interest apart from the appreciation of value. The gold deposits either short term or medium or long term will earn interest based on gold weight and its appreciation value. People can take back their gold in form gold metal with purity of 995 fineness or in rupees as wished at the end of the term.

Apart from earning interest from these gold deposits, depositors are exempted from capital gains tax, wealth tax and income tax on these bonds redemption value.

Indian Gold Coin details: While the Sovereign gold bond scheme is intended to encourage the investors to deposit their unused gold and earn interest on it, Indian Gold Coin is vice versa. Designated & recognized MMTC outlets will sell these coins. Initially, the coins will be available in denominations of 5 and 10 grams. A 20 grams bar/bullion will also be available.

These first ever national gold coins will have the national emblem of Ashok Chakra engraved on one side and the face of Mahatma Gandhi on the other side. The Indian gold coin will be of 24 karat purity and 999 fineness and carries hallmark as per the BIS standards. The Indian Gold Coin is comes in anti-counterfeit features and tamper-proof packaging. The Indian Gold Coin is also part of Indian Gold monetization program.