Gold bond tranche opens today, other scheme nets in 500 kg

New Delhi: After a moderate first tranche, the second tranche of sovereign gold bond scheme, aimed at reducing demand for physical gold, will open for five days starting Monday even as the other monetisation scheme netted in 500 kg of idle household and temple gold into government fold.

The Finance Ministry had earlier said the gold bond scheme will be available for public subscription from January 18-22. The first tranche of the scheme, which was launched in November, had got a subscription for 915.95 kg gold amounting to Rs 246 crore.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley asked CMDs of banks "to make their best efforts to reach out to potential investors to invest in the second tranche of Sovereign Gold Bonds". During a video conferencing with the bank CMDs, Jaitley discussed their preparedness for the launch of the second tranche and said the government is "keen to expand the scheme in subsequent tranches as well".

The Gold Bond scheme has an annual cap of 500 grams per person and such bonds will be issued for 5-7 years. A Finance Ministry statement said the banks gave an assurance that they will do their best to activate their branch network to inform potential investors about the advantage of the bonds. "To increase awareness among depositors, the government is continuing with the media campaign on AIR and FM radio, in print media and through mobile SMS campaign," it added.

As for the Gold Monetisation Scheme, Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das tweeted: "More than 500 kg of gold already mobilised. Scheme picking up." "The government is committed to making both gold bond and monetisation scheme successful," Das said.