The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has asked the nation’s 13,000 accredited jewellers whether they can act as testing centres and access the purity of gold being offered by customers under the Gold Monetisation Scheme (GMS).
The poor response to the newly launched GMS was attributed largely to scarcity of testing centres closer to the designated banks and customers’ inability to take the jewellery to far off places for testing its purity.
Under the GMS, gold needs to be melted and tested before the price is arrived at. Therefore, a testing centre within the accessible limit is key to its success.
Speaking at an industry event here on Tuesday, Shaktikanta Das, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, said there are limitations in terms of testing facilities, but there are renowned jewellers across the country and they should come forward to take up the role of testing and assaying centres. Consumers believe their family jewellers more than anyone, he pointed out.
If Turkey, with gold holding of 5,000 tonnes, can monetise 50 tonnes in two years, there is no reason why India cannot collect 200 tonnes through GMS, he said.
Somasundaram PR, Managing Director, World Gold Council, said the Centre’s new schemes will only provide another investment avenue and not eat into the demand for gold coins or jewellery.