The government has issued a total of 67 tranches of Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGBs) amounting to 146.96 tonnes of gold till 2024-25, Parliament was informed on Tuesday.
The outstanding value as on March 20, 2025, on issue price is Rs 67,322 crore for 130 tonnes of gold, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said in a written reply.
Redemption of SGBs is based on the prevailing market price, he said.
The government has maintained a Gold Reserve Fund (GRF) in the Public Account where the price and interest differential amount is credited in time, he said.
The SGBs, in addition to other borrowing instruments, have been an instrument for raising resources for financing fiscal deficit, it said. However, in addition to these, SGBs also served the purpose of savings/financial instruments as an alternative to physical gold, he said.
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Due to the recent gold price volatility and global economic headwinds, this form of borrowing has become relatively expensive.
“Therefore, based on maturing and deepening of Indian G-Sec market, which helped in mobilising relatively low-cost borrowing, resources were not raised through SGBs in FY 2024-25,” he said.
Replying to another question, Chaudhary said, more than 52.07 crore loans have been sanctioned, as on February 28, 2025, under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY), since the launch of the Scheme.
The average non-performing assets (NPAs) for amount disbursed is 2.21 per cent (as on December 2024) as per data uploaded by Member Lending Institutions (MLIs) on the Mudra portal, he said.
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