Fifth Tranche Of Gold Bonds Likely To Be Issued Next Month: Report

New Delhi: Seeking to contain demand for physical gold, the government is likely to issue a fifth tranche of the sovereign gold bond (SGB) scheme next month. "We are working on some changes with a view to making it more attractive. The next tranche should be issued in September," a senior Finance Ministry official said. In the previous tranche, the government made some changes to make it more attractive and its positive

result was visible in terms of mobilisation, the official added. Last month, the government had realised Rs 919 crore through the fourth tranche - the highest so far. The previous highest was Rs 746 crore, which was realised in the second tranche when the issue price was Rs 2,600 per gram of gold. In the previous round, the issue price was fixed at Rs 3,119.

This time around, the amount was mobilised through over 1.95 lakh applications representing around 2.95 tonnes of gold.

In the Union Budget 2015-16, the sovereign gold bond scheme was launched as an alternative to storing physical gold.

Launched in November 2015, the aim of SGB is to reduce demand, including through imports, for physical gold, and in process reduce India's current account deficit.

Apart from the three tranches in 2015-16, the government in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India launched the fourth one, which was open on July 18-22.

To improve attractiveness of the scheme, new features were introduced in the latest instalment, where the minimum subscription limit was brought down to one gram, from two grams.

The capital gains tax arising out of redemption stood exempted, in line with the Budget 2016-17 announcement, said the ministry.

This exemption was extended to the other three tranches as well.

The product earns an interest rate of 2.75 per cent per annum, payable half yearly on initial investment.

The government allowed the applications to be routed online and the scheme was issued by way of demat or paper.

Market exchanges BSE and NSE were notified as additional receiving offices and trading of gold bonds was also operationalised.