India brings back 100 metric tonnes of gold from the UK
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India has brought back 100 metric tonnes of gold from the United Kingdom to its domestic vaults in the fiscal year 2023-24.
This marks one of the largest transfers of gold by the country since 1991, when India pledged a substantial portion of its gold reserves to address a foreign exchange crisis, resulting in the gold being stored overseas.
According to official sources, this latest transfer has increased India's overall gold holdings by 27.46 metric tonnes in FY24, bringing the total to 822 metric tonnes. The movement of gold has been part of a strategic effort to balance the storage of the country's reserves more evenly between domestic and foreign locations.
Previously, a significant portion of India's gold reserves was stored abroad, including with the Bank of England.
With the recent transfer, over 408 metric tonnes of gold are now stored within India, effectively splitting the reserves nearly evenly between domestic and international vaults.
The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) annual report for FY24 highlights that 308 metric tonnes of gold are held domestically to back currency issuance, while an additional 100.28 metric tonnes are held as assets by the banking department. Meanwhile, 413.79 metric tonnes remain stored abroad.
The decision to repatriate a portion of the gold reserves was made following standard review procedures, considering the gold purchases made in recent years. Since acquiring 200 tonnes of gold from the International Monetary Fund in 2009, India has continued to buy gold from secondary markets as part of its strategy to diversify foreign exchange assets.
The movement of gold was conducted with utmost secrecy by officials from the Ministry of Finance, the RBI, and other agencies, due to the high value of the commodity. Currently, the domestically held gold is secured in high-security vaults and facilities located in Mumbai and Nagpur.
This strategic move to bring back a significant portion of gold reserves to India underscores the country's efforts to bolster its financial security and asset management, reflecting a prudent approach to managing its valuable resources.