The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently brought 102 tonnes of gold back from the Bank of England’s vaults in the UK to secure places in India. Now, 60% of India’s gold reserves are stored within the country, up from 50% in March. RBI made this move to keep India’s gold safer because of the uncertain global situation.

According to the RBI's report on managing India’s foreign reserves, the amount of gold stored in India increased to 510.46 metric tonnes by the end of September, up from 408 metric tonnes in March. By September 30, RBI had a total of 854.73 metric tonnes of gold, which includes both the gold stored abroad and in deposits. Specifically, 324.01 metric tonnes of gold are still kept with the Bank of England and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), while 20.26 tonnes are in the form of deposits.

An increase in domestic gold reserves boosts security

Government officials have said that keeping more of India’s gold reserves within the country adds extra security, especially when the world’s financial situation is uncertain. In May, the RBI moved over 100 metric tonnes of gold from the UK to India, making this the first big increase in India’s local gold storage since 1991. The Bank of England has been a main storage place for many central banks, including India’s, and some of India’s gold has been kept there since before Independence.

Since September 2022, India has brought back 214 tonnes of gold from other countries, as the RBI aims to store more of its gold within India. The RBI added 27.5 tonnes of gold to its reserves last financial year. This increase follows a global trend where central banks around the world are adding more gold to their reserves.

Moving the gold safely to India was a complex task that needed a lot of planning and teamwork between the finance ministry, RBI, and other government agencies. They arranged for customs duty exemptions to lower import costs, though a tax called Integrated GST (IGST) still applied. To transport the gold, they used special planes with high security to make sure it arrived safely in India.