Leaders Online Desk: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has brought back more than 100 tonnes of gold from Britain. This is a big achievement for India. It will also affect the country's economy. In fact, for the first time since 1991, RBI has transferred more than 100 tonnes of gold from Britain to its reserves in the country. This is the first time that this precious metal has been included in the local stock on such a large scale. According to the latest data, the RBI held 822.1 tonnes of gold at the end of March. Of this, 413.8 tonnes of gold has been kept abroad by the RBI. In the last financial year, RBI added 27.5 tonnes of gold to its reserves.
Historical background
India faced a foreign exchange crisis in 1991, which forced the government to pledge gold to secure aid from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This decision was considered necessary to deal with the financial crisis at that time. Now, after three decades, the gold held abroad has been transferred to domestic reserves. Many economists believe that this is a reflection of the economic progress of the country.
Economist Sanjeev Sanyal in a post on social media platform 'X' said, 'Now India will keep most of its gold in its own reserves. RBI recalled 100 tonnes of gold from UK gold reserves. Most countries keep their gold in vaults at the Bank of England or some similar location, which also charges a fee. We had to export our gold during the financial crisis in 1991, but we have come a long way since 1991.'
Gold is yet to come
According to this report, 100 tonnes of gold may return to the country in the coming months. As of the end of March 2024, the RBI held 822.1 tonnes of gold, of which 413.8 tonnes is held abroad. Of this, 100.3 tonnes of gold is in India, while 413.8 tonnes is currently abroad. Apart from this, 308 tonnes of gold has been kept for issuing notes in India. RBI has added 27.5 tonnes of gold to its gold reserves as compared to last financial year.
How did India's gold reach Britain?
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has returned over 100 tonnes of gold from Britain to India. RBI has achieved great success by bringing gold deposited in Britain to India. This is the first time since 1991 that such a large quantity of gold has returned to India. Now the question is why the gold reached abroad. There is a big story behind this too. During 1991, the country was ruled by Chandra Shekhar. The coffers of the country were empty, the economic situation was shaky. The balance of payments had declined. India's foreign exchange reserves had reached Rs 2500 crore. This amount was sufficient to enable imports for only 15 days. The struggling economy of a large country like India had no way out of the crisis. The state of the economy was such that it could go bankrupt at any time. Oil prices had skyrocketed. In such a situation, gold came to the rescue as a solution to India's problems. That is why in 1991 India had to pledge gold to borrow money from Britain.
