NEW DELHI (Commoditiescontrol) - The government will revamp the 'Gold Monetisation Scheme' and come out with a comprehensive policy on the precious metal, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said.
The revamping of the scheme is aimed at enabling people to open a hassle-free gold deposit account.
The minister also said that the government will establish a consumer-friendly and trade efficient system of regulated gold exchanges in the country.
"The government will formulate a comprehensive Gold Policy to develop gold as an asset class," he said adding "Gold Monetisation Scheme (GMS) will be revamped to enable people to open a hassle-free gold deposit account".
In 2015, the government launched the GMS with the objective of mobilising the gold held by households and institutions in the country.
The scheme allows a bank's customers to deposit their idle gold holdings for a fixed period in return for interest in the range of 2.25 per cent to 2.50 per cent.
On the other hand, imported gold items, including gold plated with platinum, unwrought or in semi manufactured form will become costlier as there will be a surcharge of 3 percent of the aggregate duties of customs from nil earlier.
(By Commoditiescontrol Bureau; +91-2-40015533)