Second tranche of gold bonds to open on Jan 18: RBI

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 next week even as the other monetisation scheme netted in 500 kg of idle household and temple gold into government fold. “The second tranche of the government’s gold bond scheme will go on sale between 18-22 January,” the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in a statement on its website. The bonds will be denominated in multiples of grams of gold with a basic unit of 1 gram. These bonds will be sold through banks, Stock Holding Corporation of India Ltd (SHCIL) and designated post offices, RBI said. “The investors will be compensated at a fixed rate of 2.75 per cent per annum payable semi-annually on the initial value of investment,” RBI said. The tenor of the bonds is set at eight years, with exit option from 5th year to be exercised on the interest payment dates. The minimum permissible investment would be at 2 grams of gold, while the maximum is capped at 500 grams for each investor, each financial year, RBI said in its statement. 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.