Govt to Discontinue MLTGD Categories under Gold Monetisation Scheme Effective March 2025

The Government has decided to discontinue the two components of the Gold Monetisation Scheme, i.e., the Medium Term and Long Term Government Deposit (MLTGD), effective from March 26, 2025. This action is followed by reviewing the scheme’s performance and considering changing market conditions.

The Ministry of Finance introduced the Gold Monetisation Scheme (GMS) under the Government of India on September 15, 2015. Initially, the scheme consisted of a total of three components, including a Short-Term Bank Deposit (STBD) with a tenure of 1-3 years, a Medium-Term Government Deposit (MTGD) with a tenure of 5-7 years, and a Long-Term Government Deposit (LTGD) with a tenure of 12 – 15 years. This scheme aims to reduce the nation’s dependency on the import of gold in the long run and mobilise gold held by households and institutions in the country to ease its use for profitable purposes.

With the implementation of this decision, the banks, Collection and Purity Testing Centres (CPTCs), and authorised testing agents will not be able to accept gold deposits under the Medium and Long Term categories from March 26, 2025, onwards. However, it has been officially confirmed that all the existing deposits made under these categories will remain active till redemption as per the extant guidelines of GMS issued through Reserve Bank Master Direction No. DBR.IBD.No. 45/23.67.003/2015-16, dated October 22, 2015.

Additionally, as per the government, the existing Short-Term Bank Deposits (STBD) component under the Gold Monetisation Scheme will remain active and will be governed by the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) under the existing guidelines. Banks will still be permitted to offer this facility under this term, depending on its commercial viability and their internal assessment. The RBI is soon likely to release detailed guidelines concerning the continuation of the scheme’s short-term deposit component.