RBI releases calendar for issuance of gold bonds for first half of FY'19

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Thursday announced calendar for issuance of Sovereign Gold Bonds for the first half of the current fiscal.

The Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGB) will be issued every month from June 2019 to September 2019, RBI said in a statement.

"The Bonds will be sold through Scheduled Commercial banks (except Small Finance Banks and Payment Banks), Stock Holding Corporation of India Limited (SHCIL), designated post offices, and recognised stock exchanges viz, National Stock Exchange of India Limited and Bombay Stock Exchange Limited," it said.

The first tranche of the bonds (2019-20 Series I) will open for subscription on June 3, while 2019-20 Series II will be available from July 8.

2019-20 Series III and 2019-20 Series IV of SGB will be open for subscription from August 5 and September 9, respectively, it said.

The sovereign gold bond scheme was launched in November 2015 with an objective to reduce the demand for physical gold and shift a part of the domestic savings, used for purchase of gold, into financial savings.

Under the scheme, the bonds are denominated in units of one gram of gold and multiples thereof. Minimum investment in the bonds is one gram with a maximum limit of subscription of 500 gram per person per fiscal year (April-March).

The maximum limit of subscription is 4 kg for individual and HUF and 20 kg for trusts and similar entities per fiscal (April-March).

The annual ceiling includes bonds subscribed under different tranches during initial issuance by the government and those purchased from the secondary market.