Gold bonds worth Rs 726 crore sold in second issue

Centre receives 3.16 lakh applications for a subscription of 2,790 kg of gold

In the second tranche of sovereign gold bonds, 3.16 lakh applications were received by banks for a total subscription of 2,790 kilograms of gold amounting to Rs 726 crore, the government said today in a release.

The response is three times higher than the first tranche when applications for 917 kg gold were received. This time, the share of applicants for smaller denomination gold bonds, were also higher. The issue closed last Friday clarifying that these are initial figures.

Gold price for second tranche was Rs 2,600 per gram against Rs 2,684 per gram in the first tranche which closed in November-end. During the first issue, which remained open for over three weeks, market price of gold fell 4% below the issue price, while during the second tranche, market price was rising. This accompanied with aggressive selling by banks helped the government get a better response.

During the first tranche of the scheme that was issued during November 2015, 62,169 applications were received for a total subscription of 915.953 kilograms of gold, amounting to receiving Rs 246.20 crore by banks and post offices.

The top ten receiving agencies in terms of subscription amount are SBI, Indian Bank, Syndicate Bank, ICICI Bank, Bank of India , Punjab and Sind Bank, Andhra Bank , Canara Bank, PNB, and Central Bank of India, the release added.

To increase the awareness amongst potential depositors, the Centre had also launched the media campaign through AIR, FM radio, Print media, Mobile SMS, Facebook and Twitter.