Indian Gold Book:Indian Gold Book - Gold Bars Worldwide

ROLE OF INDIAN GOVERNMENT
1997 Open General Licence (OGL). On 30 August, 7 banks were authorised to import gold, subsequently increased
to 20. The first bank imports occurred in November 1997. 10 banks, reported as active importers, now
dominate the official import of gold. 3 banks, appointed in 2002, are in the process of becoming active.
Mobilising gold in private hands
1993 5 year Gold Bond 1998. Issued over a 3 month period, March - June, against the supply of dishoarded gold.
Redemption in 1998 was in the form of gold bars at 995 purity plus a lump sum payment of Rs 40 per gramme.
41 tonnes were subscribed.
1999 Gold Deposit Scheme (GDS). In October, the State Bank of India was authorised to accept gold from the
public to enable depositors to earn interest on their gold holdings (3 - 4%) and the banks to use the gold, after
refining, for domestic market purposes, mainly for gold loans to the jewellery fabricators. Subsequently, 5 other
banks were authorised. In the first two years, approximately 8 tonnes were deposited.
The GDS is the latest in several schemes designed to attract gold deposits from the public. An important feature
is that the scheme is on-going, while previous Gold Bond schemes in 1962, 1965 and 1993 restricted the
opportunity to deposit gold to a limited period.
Improving the quality of gold jewellery
2000 Certification Scheme for Hallmarking of Gold Jewellery. Initiated by the Bureau of Indian Standards
(BIS), the voluntary scheme involves the authorisation of independent entities to act as Assaying and Hallmarking
Centres, and Certified Jewellers to use the centres for hallmarking purposes. The first centre was authorised in
April. In the first two years, 12 Hallmarking Centres, serving 275 Certified Jewellers, were established in 9 cities.
Stimulating the export of gold jewellery
Access to imported duty-free gold for the fabrication of jewellery for export has been available since at least 1978 when the
State Bank of India was permitted to import gold for this purpose. Subsequently, Public Sector Undertakings (PSU’s) were
also authorised: HHEC (1982), MMTC (1989) and STC (1997). Several duty-free import schemes are defined in
the Government’s EXIM (Export/Import) Policy. To facilitate the fabrication of export products (including jewellery) for
international markets, “export zones” have been established, notably in Special Economic Zones (SEZ), and Export
Processing Zones (EPZ) since the late 1980s. The most important is SEEPZ (in Mumbai), converted to SEZ status in 2000,
where almost 50% of the value of gold jewellery exports is fabricated.
Official gold reserves
Official gold reserves are 358 tonnes, having grown from 216 tonnes in 1976. The increase has been due mainly to the
absorption of gold confiscated from smugglers, gold derived from nationalised gold mining companies, and adjustments to
the amount of gold acquired and held by various Government departments. In 1978, 14 Gold Auctions were held, 13 tonnes
sold on a tender basis to licensed dealers and certified goldsmiths.
GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS
The gold industry is subject to the regulations, notifications and public notices of many government institutions, notably the
following:
• Ministry of Finance
• Reserve Bank of India
• Ministry of Commerce and Industry
• Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Distribution
• Ministry of Coal and Mines
The Government is also associated with commercial gold-related activities through several institutions that are wholly or
partly government-owned:
• Public Sector Banks (PSB’s)
• Public Sector Undertakings (PSU’s)
• Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)
• Nationalised gold mining companies
• India Government Mint, Mumbai
MINISTRY OF FINANCE
The Ministry of Finance is concerned with economic and financial matters affecting the country. It comprises the Department
of Economic Affairs, Department of Expenditure and Department of Revenue.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) falls under the Department of Revenue. It formulates policy relating
to the levy and collection of Customs & Central Excise duties. It is the administrative authority of subordinate organisations,
including Customs Houses and Central Excise Commissionerates. It monitors the import of gold and collects the Customs
duties. It ensures that no gold is officially imported in contravention of the EXIM (Export/Import) Policy.
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AN INTRODUCTION TO THE INDIAN GOLD MARKET