PIB Summary- 25th October, 2021 | PIB (Press Information Bureau) Summary - UPSC PDF Download

Sovereign  Gold Bond Scheme

Why in News?

Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme 2021-22 (Series VII) – Issue Price.

• The issue price of the Bond during the subscription period shall be  4,765 (Rupees Four thousand Seven hundred sixty five only) – per gram, as also published by RBI.

About Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme (SGB)

• The Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme was introduced in the Union Budget 2015-16.
• It was launched to reduce the demand for physical gold and with an aim to invest a part of these physicals gold bars and coins that are purchased every year into financial savings in the form of gold bonds.
• Investors have to pay the issue price in cash and the bonds will be redeemed in cash on maturity.
• The Bond is issued by Reserve Bank on behalf of Government of India.
• Government introduced these bonds to help reduce India’s over dependence on gold imports.
• The move was also aimed at changing the habits of Indians from saving in physical form of gold to a paper form with Sovereign backing.
• The bonds will be restricted for sale to resident Indian entities, including individuals, Hindu Undivided Family (HUFs), trusts, universities and charitable institutions.
• The bonds will be denominated in multiples of gram(s) of gold with a basic unit of 1 gram.
• The tenor will be for a period of 8 years with exit option from the 5th year to be exercised on the interest payment dates.
• The minimum permissible investment limit will be 1 gram of gold, while the maximum limit will be 4 kg for individual, 4 kg for HUF and 20 kg for trusts and similar entities per fiscal (April-March) notified by the government from time to time.
• In case of joint holding, the investment limit of 4 kg will be applied to the first applicant only.

  Bonds can be used as collateral for loans.

• The loan-to-value (LTV) ratio is to be set equal to ordinary gold loan mandated by the Reserve Bank from time to time.

Benefits of Sovereign Gold Bond

• As a low-risk investment, it is perfect for investors with low-risk appetite.
• Compared to physical gold, the cost to purchase or sell SGBs is quite low.
• The expense of buying or selling the SGB is also nominal in comparison to the physical gold.
• The gold bonds can be availed either in paper or in demat form as per the convenience of an individual.
• The gold bonds invested by the Investors can be gifted or transferred to others who are eligible under the scheme.
• They can also trade these bonds on stock exchanges subject to notifications of the Reserve Bank of India.
• These Gold bonds can be purchased through multiple payment modes such as cheques, cash, DDs or electronic transfer.

Amended Technology Up-Gradation Fund Scheme

Why in News?

Union Minister of Textiles reviewed the Amended Technology Up-gradation fund Scheme (ATUFS) with the different Ministries, Departments ,Textiles Industry Associations and Banks etc at the 5th Inter Ministerial Steering  Committee  (IMSC) meeting organized by the Ministry of Textiles.

• They reviewed the Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme to boost the Indian Textile Industry by enabling ease of doing business, bolstering exports & fuelling employment.

About Amended Technology Up-gradation fund Scheme (ATUFS) :

• Ministry of Textiles had introduced Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS) in 1999 as a credit linked subsidy scheme intended for modernization and technology up-gradation of the Indian textile industry, promoting ease of doing business, generating employment and promoting exports. Since then, the scheme has been implemented in different versions.
• The Ministry of Textiles has introduced the Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (ATUFS) starting from Jan 2016, for a period of seven years.
• Under ATUFS, there is a provision of a one-time capital subsidy for eligible benchmarked machinery at the rate of 15% for garments.
• The ATUFS replaces the existing Revised Restructured Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (RR-TUFS) to give a boost to the textile sector under the Make in India campaign.
• The scheme is being administered with a two stage monitoring mechanism by Technical Advisory-cum-Monitoring Committee (TAMC) and Inter-Ministerial Steering Committee (IMSC).
• ATUFS is implemented through web based platform, iTUFS.
• The amended scheme would give a boost to ‘Make in India’ in the textiles sector
• It is expected to attract investment to the tune of one lakh crore rupees, and create over 30 lakh jobs

 The scheme specifically targets:

• Employment generation and export by encouraging the apparel and garment industry, which will provide employment to women in particular and increase India’s share in global exports.
• Promotion of Technical Textiles, a sunrise sector, for export and employment
• Promoting conversion of existing looms to better technology looms for improvement in quality and productivity
• Encouraging better quality in the processing industry and checking the need for import of fabrics by the garment sector.