RBI move to control gold imports

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will release a report on new gold-backed financial products shortly, deputy governor Subir Gokarn said. The products will help India to bring down both soaring gold imports (up 39% last fiscal) and widening current account deficit (CAD; 4.2% of GDP).

It would help if financial products have gold-like qualities, he said.

The RBI will focus on four categories of gold-backed instruments that will replicate the returns on gold investments and also offer a hedge against inflation in an uncertain and slowing economy.

Modified gold deposit scheme is measured in terms of physical quantity of gold deposited and not tied to the form in which it is deposited.  In demat gold linked account, the gold invested will be hedged in the international market by the bank concerned. The third type of instrument will be similar to the systematic investment plan of mutual funds, requiring investments at regular intervals. The fourth product will be akin to reverse mortgage and will target senior citizens.