PIB Summary- 4th March, 2023 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly - UPSC PDF Download

Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme

Why in News?
Recently the Finance Ministry said that the Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGBs) 2022-23-Series IV will open for subscription during the period March 06-10, 2023.

About Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme (SGB)

• The Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme was introduced in the Union Budget 2015-16 by the Union Cabinet which was chaired by PM Narendra Modi.
• 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.

SAMARTH Scheme

Why in News?
Samarth is a demand driven and placement-oriented umbrella skilling programme of Ministry of Textiles. The implementation period of the scheme is up to March 2024.

About SAMARTH Scheme

• Samarth (Scheme for Capacity Building in the Textile Sector) is a flagship skill development programme that the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved as a continuation of the Integrated Skill Development Program for the 12th Five Year Plan (FYP).
• Under the National Handicrafts Development Program’s component “Skill Development in Handicrafts Sector,” the Office of the Development Commissioner (Handicrafts) is implementing the SAMARTH to offer skill training to handicraft artists.

Objectives

• To offer demand-driven, job-focused skill-upgrading programmes to encourage industry efforts to create jobs in organised textile and related sectors, as well as to promote skilling and skill upgradation in the traditional sectors through the relevant sectoral divisions/organizations of the Ministry of Textile.
• To give all societal groups in the nation a means of support.