Reserve Bank of India is moving 100 tons of gold from the UK to India.
India's central bank has moved around 100 tonnes, or 1 lakh kilograms, of gold from the United Kingdom back to its vaults in India, and intends to move more in the coming months, as reported by TOI on Friday.
RBI faced severe criticism back in 1991 when it was forced to pledge part of its gold reserves as the country was undergoing a foreign exchange crisis. This is the first time since 1991 that India has moved such a large scale of gold.
This move has been made for logistical reasons as well as diversity of storage, according to sources speaking to TOI's Siddhartha. Domestically, gold is stored in vaults located in the RBI's old office building on Mumbai's Mint Road and in Nagpur.
"RBI started purchasing gold a few years ago and decided to undertake a review of where it wants to store it, something that is done from time to time. Since stock was building up overseas, it was decided to get some of the gold to India," the report quoted an official as saying.
"It shows the strength of the economy and the confidence, which is in sharp contrast to the situation in 1991," a source said.
Traditionally, for many central banks, the Bank of England has served as a repository, and India is no exception, with some of its gold reserves stored in London since before Independence.
Photogallery
