Mumbai: Akshaya Tritiya, one of the most important festivals in the Indian calendar, falls on Monday, 9th May this year. It is considered a particularly auspicious day to buy gold, and following this tradition is believed to bring a family long-term prosperity and success. This Akshaya Tritiya, Indian consumers can usher the festival of good fortune by buying India’s first sovereign gold product, the Indian Gold Coin from 42 hub branches of Indian Overseas Banks (IOB), 20 MMTC outlets and select branches of Phulkari Emporium in Chandigarh and New Delhi.
Through these channels, the Indian Gold Coin will be retailed in 31 cities for the first time that include Mumbai, Chennai, Chandigarh, Bengaluru, Agra, Ahmedabad, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Barbil, Bellary, Bhubaneshwar, Erode, Goa, Hospet, Jaipur, Jamshedpur, Kolkata, Kochi, New Delhi, Ludhiana, Madurai, Mangaluru, Mysuru, Puri, Pune, Ranchi, Salem, Trichy, Thiruvananthapuram, Vijayawada and Vizag. The Indian Gold Coin will be available in denominations of 5 grams, 10 grams coin and 20 grams bar across these cities. Soon Indian Gold Coin will also be available at other bank branches and India Post outlets.
Ved Prakash, CMD, MMTC said, “Gold bought on this auspicious day signifies never-diminishing good fortune. The traditional and cultural appeal of gold, combined with its strong fundamentals, means the precious metal remains central to millions of Indian households’ long-term savings, and more so during the festival of Akshaya Tritiya. This year, Indians have the option of buying gold in its purest form. It is our endeavour to encourage consumers to choose the Indian Gold Coin as their preferred purchase by offering it at across IOB branches and our own retail outlets across 31 cities in India. This coin is a symbol of purity, standardisation and monetisation, making it an ideal purchase for everyone planning to purchase gold this Akshaya Tritiya.”
Commenting on the announcement, Spokesperson of Indian Overseas Bank said, “We are proud to be the first bank that is selling Indian Gold Coin through its branches. For the auspicious occasion of Akshaya Tritiya, Indian Gold Coin would be available for purchase in 42 hub branches of IOB across India. We intend to broaden the availability of our national gold coin across cities in India.”
The coins have Ashok Chakra engraved on one side and the face of Mahatma Gandhi on the other. The coins are priced in a transparent and competitive manner. Hallmarked by BIS, the security of the Indian Gold Coin is guaranteed through tamperproof packaging and advanced anti-counterfeit features making it very safe. The coins boast of 24 karat purity and 999 fineness assuring consumers of absolute purity. It can be easily concluded that the Indian Gold Coin is currently one of the purest forms of gold available in the country and is ‘Minted in India’. Indian Gold Coin is a unique gold coin which offers Positive Tolerance both for weight and guaranteed purity.
The Indian Gold Coin is among the key initiatives of the gold reform schemes launched in November 2015 by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India. Indian Gold Coin is brought to the public under Indian Government’s vision of “Make in India” and gold sourced from Temple etc under Domestic Gold Deposit Scheme/Gold Monetisation Programme. The government has mandated MMTC Ltd., A Government of India Enterprise, under the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry to launch the Indian Gold Coin. These coins are minted by the India Government Mint – Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited (SPMCIL) and hallmarked by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). The World Gold Council is the marketing associate in this venture to create awareness about the coin.
