India Stood As 10th Largest Gold Holding Country (25-Feb-2010)
The Economic Survey, which was tabled in the Parliament by the Finance Minister today noted that the year 2009-10 witnessed India becoming the world''s 10th largest gold-holding country, from a nation that pledged its bullion two decades ago to pay for imports.
The gold purchase by the government of 200 tonnes from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) took its total reserves to 557.7 tonnes, or about 6 per cent of the total foreign exchange reserves.
India in 1991 had to pledge its gold to the Bank of England in order to pay for its imports.
The survey said "Post-purchase, India has become the 10th largest official gold-holding country in the world,".
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in November last year concluded 200 tonnes of gold purchase from IMF as part of the country''s foreign exchange reserve management operation.
The purchase, which was executed over two weeks during October, was an official-sector off-market transaction.
Earlier, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had said that the purchase of gold provided a healing touch to the pride of the nation, which was dented about two decades earlier when the country sold its gold for a few hundred million dollars.
Meanwhile, the survey sates that IMF''s Executive Board, on September 18, 2009 announced its decision to sell 403.3 metric tonnes of gold as a central element of its New Income Model and in order to increase its resources for lending to low-income countries.
The IMF also decided that the initial offer of the sale would be directly to official holders, including the central banks. Consequent of this, the RBI concluded the purchase of 200 metric tonnes of gold from IMF, under the IMF''s limited gold sales programme, at the cost of US$ 6.7 billion, in November 2009, as part of its foreign exchange reserves management operation.
The purchase was an official- sector off-market transaction and was executed over a two-week period during October 19-30, 2009 at market-based prices.
With this purchase, gold holdings in the country''s foreign exchange reserves have increased to 557.7 tonnes from 357.7 tonnes, which is about 6 per cent of the reserves. Post-purchase, India has become the 10th largest official gold-holding country in the world.
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