The temple's gold pledge is the first big-ticket deposit under the Gold Monetisation Scheme, which has seen a slow pick up so far. The move could spur more temple trusts of the likes of Tirumala and Shirdi to follow suit.
One of the richest shrines in India, Mumbai's Siddhivinayak temple, on Wednesday, has decided to move 40 kg of its gold reserves towards the government-led Gold Monetisation Scheme (GMS). This move is likely to earn nearly Rs 67 lakh in interest annually as per the upper end of 2-2.5% interest per year offered under the scheme.
In a bid to reduce the economically-crippling imports, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the much-publicised scheme during Diwali this year, to tap a pool of more than 20,000 tonnes of gold lying idle in homes and temples in India.
Sanjeev Patil, chief executive officer of the temple trust, said, “In principle, it has been agreed by the trust members to apply with the state government for getting approvals to melt the 40 kg gold in the government mint.“ He said, the interest earned from the gold deposits will be used to fund medical aide facilities for economically backward patients.
The temple's gold pledge is the first big-ticket deposit under the Gold Monetisation Scheme, which has seen a slow pick up so far. The move could spur more temple trusts of the likes of Tirumala and Shirdi to follow suit.
ALSO READ: Tirupati temple undecided on pledging gold to govt's monetisation scheme
The temple will send the gold to the government-controlled mints to convert it into gold biscuits. As most of the devotees donate gold in the form of ornaments, the pure yield after melting it will shrink to around 30 kg. At Rs 25,000 per 10gm, this will be worth Rs 7.5 crore.
The Siddhivinayak temple's current gold reserves stand at a staggering 165 kg. It already has 10 kg of this deposited with the State Bank of India at an annual interest of 1%. It is also mandatory for the trust to auction some of the donations it receives from the devotees, and this includes gold ornaments.
Moreshwar Bagade, the temple trust's finance and account officer, said the trust's gold deposit at the State Bank of India earns it Rs 1.9 lakh interest annually. Another official of the trust said that more deposits could be moved to Gold Monetisation Scheme if it helps the temple earn better returns that can then be pumped into its social welfare projects.
Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), which manages the world's richest Hindu temple of Sri Venkateswara Swamy, has not decided yet on moving its stash gold under scheme, a top official of the Board said.
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