In India, gold is not just a precious metal. It has held a place in our Indian culture and the economy. It denotes wealth, prosperity, and stability. India’s relationship with gold has a long history. Our country has held gold in tremendous quantities for ages, which is one of the reasons why it was called the ‘Golden Bird’ or ‘Sone ki Chidiya’. Handling such amounts of gold always required intervention from the administration. In the olden ages, the rulers of the kingdoms performed. However, as the time progressed, this responsibility shifted.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) handles our country’s gold reserves. These reserves symbolise national prosperity and reflect our country’s wealth. They are also crucial to India’s monetary policy and economic security. The article explores the history of these reserves, influencing factors, how and where they are stored, and, ultimately, their importance to our economy.
Historical Context
Early Ages
Gold has been a part of our culture for ages. It is important in religion, jewellery, and our country’s economy. In other words, gold is auspicious, a medium of exchange, jewellery, and a store of value. Gold has been available in abundance throughout history.
Several ancient texts indicate the presence of gold in one form or another throughout the different dynasties that ruled our land. This established India’s presence in the global market. Therefore, it can be rightfully inferred that gold is deeply integrated into our Indian society and holds tremendous value.
Post-Independence till 1991
India gained its independence from British rule in 1947. Before our independence, the Reserve Bank of India was established in 1934 as per the Reserve Bank of India Act. The act provides legal guidelines for managing foreign currency assets and gold reserves. Since then, RBI has been managing the country’s gold reserves. Gold served as a critical asset to back the Indian rupee.
The Economic Crisis of 1991
Until 1991, India had been properly managing its gold reserves and increasing them to aid economic balance. However, India suffered a massive balance-of-payments crisis due to a high fiscal deficit, excessive borrowing, and rising global oil prices. These factors led to a severe foreign exchange shortage, making it difficult to pay imports and foreign debt.
In this critical situation, RBI came to our country’s aid with its Gold reserves. The bank mortgaged a significant amount of gold reserves, which brought in close to $405 million. This helped increase the country’s foreign exchange again. Ultimately, the gold reserves held by the country were used in times of crisis to fulfil import and debt obligations.
The importance of gold reserves as a strategic asset was realized during this time. They helped stabilise the crisis and restore the international community’s faith in the Indian market.
Where do we store our gold reserves?
The country’s gold reserves are stored domestically and internationally. This distribution of assets reflects the central bank’s commitment to managing this strategic asset in light of the geopolitical and economic situations.
Domestic Storage
In India, gold is stored in high-security facilities in Mumbai and Nagpur, Maharashtra. Given the importance of this asset, these facilities are under extreme security. The domestic storage allows the RBI to have direct control over the gold and also allows for better management of local gold prices.
Foreign Storage
RBI has chosen a few locations outside the country’s borders and placed the remaining gold under high security. The major stock of the gold reserves is placed in the Bank of England. In addition to this, RBI has also chosen the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in Basel, Switzerland, and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in the United States of America (USA).
Why is gold stored in foreign countries?
There are a few reasons why RBI has chosen foreign banks for storing its gold reserves:
- High Security: The banks in cities like London, New York, and Zurich have state-of-the-art security measures. These become extremely important, especially when assets like gold are involved.
- Proximity to Market: These financial centres allow access to global gold markets. These allow rapid buying, selling, or swapping of gold.
- Diversification: These locations are decided strategically and help to reduce the associated geopolitical risks.
- History: During the 1991 crisis, some gold reserves were kept in the Bank of England to obtain a loan. Even though the loan has been repaid, it was decided to keep the gold safely abroad only.
Current Status of Gold Reserves
RBI constantly monitors the global scenario and considers the various market situations. The central bank has been observing factors like the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Israel conflict, and a potential recession. These scenarios present a potential for destabilizing global financial conditions.
Considering this, the RBI has continuously monitored the country’s gold reserves. As of October 2024, the total gold reserves held by the RBI amount to 854.73 metric tonnes. Of this total quantity, 510.46 metric tonnes of these reserves are now within India. The remaining gold reserves are still abroad. This means 324.01 tonnes of gold lies at the Bank of England and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).
In addition, 20.26 metric tonnes are maintained as deposits for liquidity and financial stability. These figures indicate a strong forex cover. Such high quantities of gold indicate that we have sufficient forex reserves to cover 11.2 months of imports.
Recent Developments
On the auspicious occasion of Dhanteras, the RBI brought home another 100 tonnes of gold from the Bank of England’s vault to secure locations within the country. This may be considered one of the most significant movements of gold since 1991. The RBI eventually increases its total reserves to diversify foreign exchange reserves and avoid volatile currency assets. Moreover, as mentioned before, given the increasing geopolitical risks, the central bank is trying to stabilise the domestic economy.
The gold reserves held by India and managed by the Reserve Bank of India are strategic in maintaining our country’s economic stability. India has had a rich relationship with gold, as indicated by the recent repatriation of 100 tonnes of gold. Given the global geopolitical risks, the rise in domestic holdings is a preventive approach to safeguarding assets. Gold reserves are a vital component and a good indicator of national prosperity and protection against any volatile market fluctuation.
