Gold 'Deposit' scheme to be discontinued Central Government announces

New Delhi: The central government has announced that it will stop the gold investment scheme, which allows people to deposit gold in banks and earn interest, from yesterday.

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What is the recurring gold deposit scheme?

The central government launched the Gold Investment Scheme on September 15, 2015, to reduce gold imports and to collect gold from the public and companies and use it for the country's development projects.

This scheme was implemented with the aim of reducing gold imports as the government releases the gold deposited in this scheme back into the market.

Under the Gold Investment Scheme, customers can deposit their gold in banks and earn interest on it. Not only gold jewellery, but also gold coins and gold bars can be deposited. A minimum of 10 grams of gold must be deposited. There is no upper limit. The scheme is implemented in three ways: short-term from one to three years; medium-term from five to seven years; and long-term from 12 to 15 years.

The Union Finance Ministry has now announced that it will immediately stop the medium and long-term schemes. It is reported that this decision has been taken after a detailed evaluation of the functioning of this scheme, market development and other aspects.

 Accordingly, banks and other outlets will no longer accept gold deposits under the medium and long-term segments of the scheme. However, it has been informed that the short-term scheme may be continued at the discretion of the banks.

Also, if you have already invested in gold on a medium and long-term basis, you can continue to receive benefits until the end of the period as per the current rules.