On Monday, the first of two new tranches of Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGBs) to be issued during the first half of the ongoing 2023-24 financial year, opened for subscription, and people can subscribe to it till Friday.
The second tranche, on the other hand, will be available for subscription from September 11-15.
What is Sovereign Gold Bond?
According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), these are government securities denominated in terms of gold, substituting for physical gold. Each SGB scheme has an ‘issue’ price; upon the scheme’s maturity, bonds are redeemed in the form of cash. The RBI issues the bond on behalf of the Union government.
Price of Series-I, 2023-24
It has been fixed at ₹5,926 per gram. Investors who subscribe online and make the payment digitally, will get a discount of ₹50.
To invest or not?
According to HT’s sister publication Mint, investment in digital gold returns high liquidity, eliminates storage costs, and is easier to sell as compared to the metal in its physical form. Also, retail investors stand to gain 2.5% on investment until the maturity of bonds.
“Investing in SGBs comes with an interest coupon payable annually. The bonds have posted double-digit figures since inception in November 2015,” Mint quoted expert Nish Bhatt as saying.
Where to buy SGBs?
These can be bought from Scheduled Commercial Banks (except Small Finance Banks, Payments Banks, and Regional Rural Banks), Clearing Corporation of India Limited (CCIL), Designated post offices (as may be notified), and recognised stock exchanges (directly or through agents).
