Let banks repay deposits in gold, says Balaji temple

New Delhi/Mumbai: The Tirupati Balaji temple, the world’s richest Hindu temple, has asked the government to allow banks to repay it in gold for longer-term deposits it makes under the gold monetisation scheme. The decision of gold-rich temples, which are sitting on thousands of tonnes of the gold, is crucial for the success of the scheme.

“We wrote to the government to change certain conditions in the scheme and offer principal and interest in the form of gold for medium-term and long-term deposits,” D. Sambasiva Rao, the executive director of the temple administration Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) said on Wednesday. Medium-term and long-term deposits refer to deposits for between five and 15 years.

“The changes will make the scheme attractive for all the temples in the country,” he said. TTD’s participation in the gold scheme is crucial to its success since the temple in Andhra Pradesh holds seven tonnes of the metal, equivalent to about $277 million at current prices.

However, Tirupati and other temples around India are reluctant to part with the gold forever because of its religious significance. India is the world’s second-biggest consumer of gold after China and imports accounted for about a quarter of India’s trade deficit in the year ending March 2015.

In 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Gold Monetisation Scheme to mobilise gold stashed with individuals, institutions and rich temples for recycling and to reduce imports. The scheme has garnered about three tonnes of gold in four months out of a national hoard of over 20,000 tonnes.

TTD last month deposited 1.3 tonnes of gold with state-run Punjab National Bank at a rate of 1.75 per cent for three years, Mr Rao said, as some of its deposits under previous monetisation schemes have matured. The temple will deposit another 1.4 tonnes in a fortnight at 1.25 per cent with Indian Overseas Bank as most of the gold is raw and the bank will spend to refine it, he added.

In Mumbai, Shree Siddhivinayak Ganapati Temple trust chairman Narendra Muraru Rane said it will deposit 44 kg of gold with a bank by March end for recycling, choosing a short-term plan rather than a longer scheme that does not pay back in gold.