Govt scraps plan to use gold deposits as part of CRR & SLR in gold monetisation scheme: Sources

NEW DELHI: Government has dropped plans to use gold deposits as part of CRR and SLR in Gold Monetisation Scheme, finance ministry sources today told ET Now. It will now seek Cabinet nod in 1-2 weeks and the scheme is likely to be rolled out by first week of September, the sources added.

In a draft paper released in May, the government in a move to incentivise banks had proposed that they may allow to deposit the mobilised gold as part of the CRR/SLR requirements with the Reserve Bank of India.

Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) and Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) are mandatory requirement which banks have to follow as per RBI directive.

Government is seeking to mobilise idle gold worth up to Rs 60 lakh crore held by households and institutions by offering tax-free interest on depositing the yellow metal with banks, offering tax-free interest on depositing the yellow metal with banks.

The stock of gold in India that is held by people of the country that is 'neither traded nor monetised' is estimated to be over 20,000 tonnes, which would be worth about Rs 60 lakh crore at the current market price.

A large amount of gold is also held by temples and other religious institutions. However, the draft scheme does not specifically mention the kind of institutions that would be covered under it.

India is one of the largest consumers of gold in the world and imports as much as 800-1,000 tonnes of the metal each year.

As per the draft guidelines, a person or institution holding surplus gold can get it valued from BIS-approved hallmarking centres, open a Gold Savings Account in banks for a minimum period of one year and earn interest in either cash or gold units.