TTD ready to keep 7.5 tonne gold under Gold Monetisation Scheme if interest paid in gold

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD), which attracts the highest number of pilgrims in the country, plans to move all the 7.5 tonnes of gold under the Gold Monetisation Scheme launched by the Central Government in November last year.

The temple trust of Lord Balaji has recently kept around 1.3 tonnes of gold with Punjab National Bank under the same scheme.

"We have roughly about 7.5 tonnes of gold and most of it is in the banks. Gold monetisation scheme was there for the TTD earlier. It is kept in various banks under different schemes. The entire gold will be kept in the Gold Monetisation Scheme as and when the current schemes mature," TTD executive officer D Sambasiva Rao said here on Saturday.

He said they have requested the Government to make changes in the scheme so that the TTD earns the interest only in the form of gold on the yellow metal to be kept under the scheme.

The scheme, which was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, comes in short, medium and long term format carrying different payment modes. While the interest is converted as gold and paid to the investor in the short term scheme, the principal can be paid in the gold or cash form while the interest of 2.5 percent is paid in cash form only under the medium and long term monetisation scheme formats. TTD is keen to put its gold under long term format if it pays in gold.

If the Centre agrees to the changes in the long term scheme, TTD would get about 800 kgs to one tonne of gold every year on all of its gold stash, according to Sambasiva Rao.