Sovereign gold bonds worth Rs 5,400 crore issued so far: RBI

Mumbai: Sovereign gold bonds (SGBs) worth Rs 5,400 crore have been issued in eight tranches till date, the Reserve Bank of India said on Friday.

Investors in these bonds, launched in November 2015, have been provided with the option of holding them in physical or dematerialised form.

"The Reserve Bank of India, in consultation with the Government of India, has issued eight tranches of sovereign gold bonds for a total value of Rs 5,400 crore till date," the central bank said in a statement.

Against the target of raising Rs 15,000 crore through issue of gold bonds in the first year alone, the proceeds in 19 months total up to only Rs 5,400 crore.

The bonds are government securities denominated in grams of gold. The bond is issued by Reserve Bank on behalf of the government.

The government had come out with the scheme to discourage public from holding gold in physical form.

The government had launched the first tranche of sovereign gold bond scheme in November 2015 for which it got subscription for 915.95 kg of gold worth Rs 246 crore.

Under the scheme, the bonds are denominated in units of one gram of gold and multiples thereof. Minimum investment in the bonds is one gram with a maximum limit of subscription of 500 grams per person per fiscal year (April-March).

The bonds issued under the eighth tranche had a maturity period of eight years.