New Delhi: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has moved approximately 100 tonnes (1 lakh kilograms) of gold from the United Kingdom to its vaults in India, Business Today reported, quoting sources.

RBI has shifted 100 tonnes of its gold reserves back to India from UK

This is the first time since 1991 that India has undertaken such a large-scale transfer of gold reserves.

More than half of the RBI’s gold reserves are held overseas in secure custody with the Bank of England and the Bank of International Settlements, while approximately a third is stored domestically.

It may be noted that the move is expected to help the RBI save on storage costs currently paid to the Bank of England.

The central bank held 822.10 tonnes of gold as part of its foreign exchange reserves as of March 31, 2024, an increase from the 794.63 tonnes held at the same time last year, according to the annual data released by the RBI.

Prominent economist Sanjeev Sanyal said, “While no one was watching, RBI has shifted 100 tonnes of its gold reserves back to India from UK.”

“Most countries keep their gold in the vaults of the Bank of England or some such location (and pay a fee for the privilege). India will now hold most of its gold in its own vaults. We have come a long way since we had to ship out gold overnight in 1991 in the midst of a crisis,” he added.

“For those of my generation, the shipping out of gold in 1990-91 was moment of failure that we will never forget. This is why this shipping back of gold has a special meaning,” he added.