Government is unlikely to raise Rs 15,000 crore from sovereign gold bond scheme, even after the launch of the second tranche by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) from January 18, which will end on January 22, offering an annual interest rate of 2.75 percent to domestic investors. The bonds, which will be sold through banks, post offices and stock Holding Corporation, would be issued on February 8.
As per the second half borrowing programme issued by RBI in consultation with government, Rs 15,000 crore had to be raised through gold bonds. The fund raised from gold bonds would be part of the market borrowing programme in addition to Rs 2.34 lakh crore to be raised through dated securities during October-March period of the current fiscal. The first tranche of the scheme, which was launched in November, had got a subscription for 915.95 kg gold amounting to just Rs 246 crore.
To discourage investors from physical gold, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on November 5 launched gold schemes. The gold bonds are issued in denominations of 5 grams, 10 grams, 50 grams and 100 grams for a term of 5-7 years with a rate of interest to be calculated on the value of the metal at the time of investments. The Gold Bond Scheme will have an annual cap of 500 grams per person. In April-December of the current fiscals, gold imports rose to $26.45 billion, from $25.85 billion in the same period last year.