DNA TV Show: Why RBI increasing gold reserves amid record high price of yellow metal

Gold prices saw a steep surge of Rs 1,000 and breached the Rs 82,000 per 10 grams mark for the first time in Delhi on Wednesday, amid robust buying by jewellers ahead of Diwali. But since it is Diwali, people buy it even at a high price.

Today, the price of 10 grams of gold is Rs 79,621. If someone wants to buy 1 kg of gold, s/he will have to spend about Rs 80 lakh. Gold has become more expensive by more than 200 per cent in the last 10 years. On the occasion of Dhanteras, RBI said that through a secret mission, 102 tonnes of gold had been brought to India from the Bank of England, UK. A total of 214 tonnes of gold has been brought into the country since September 2022. By the end of September, the RBI had a total of 855 tonnes of gold, of which 510.5 tonnes were kept safe within India.

Now why is this being done, why so much gold is being brought into the country? The reason behind it is the wars going on in different parts of the world for the past few years. Due to this, it is not safe to keep gold outside and that is why RBI is bringing back the gold kept in foreign banks.

In 2015, the price of 10 grams of gold was Rs 25380. Which became Rs 30,000 in 2016. In 2017, it became Rs 30,850. In 2019, it became around Rs 40,000. In 2020, when COVID came, even then gold remained expensive and the price crossed Rs 52,000. In 2022, the price increased to above Rs 51,000, in 2023 it crossed Rs 61,000. This year, it has reached a record close to Rs 80,000.

That is, in 10 years, gold worth Rs 25,000 has become Rs 80,000. Gold is also a better investment option and buying gold at festivals in India is also considered auspicious. Hence, the demand for gold remains whether it is cheap or expensive.