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RBI’s denial fails to bridle

row over gold shifting

News & While Congress shares a report regarding shifting of 200 tonnes of
RBI’s gold to Switzerland in 2014, the apex bank says it is a normal
views practice for central banks to keep their gold reserves overseas

Bharat hiteshi
hen the Congress ing abroad a part of its gold holding in
Hiteshi is an party tweeted a 2014. However, the statement issued by
independent journalist- report regard- the RBI created further confusion.
turned-author and a ing shifting of 200 This is what the RBI statement said
political commentator. tonnes of the RBI’s that “It is a normal practice for central
The views expressed W gold to Switzerland banks world over to keep their gold
are his own with the tweet, “Did the Modi govt se- reserves overseas with central banks of
cretly transport 200 tonnes of RBI’s gold other countries like Bank of England for
to Switzerland in 2014?,” it led to a huge safe custody”. “It is further stated that no
controversy which refuses to die down. gold was shifted by the RBI from India
The tweet came in the aftermath of to other countries in 2014 or thereafter.
a candidate contesting election from Thus, the media reports cited above are
South Delhi constituency alleging that factually incorrect,” the statement said.
the Modi government secretly trans- The Congress party had tweeted a
ported 200 tonnes of the Reserve Bank report regarding shifting of 200 tonnes
of India’s (RBI) gold reserve overseas of the RBI’s gold to Switzerland in 2014.
immediately after coming to power in “Did the Modi govt secretly transport
May 2014. 200 tonnes of RBI’s gold to Switzerland
An investigative journalist by profes- in 2014?,” the party had tweeted while
sion, Navneet Chaturvedi reached his tagging the report.
conclusion after filing an RTI seeking in- There were allegations that the Modi
formation on the existing gold reserves government secretly transported 200
of the RBI last year and through the study tonnes of the Reserve Bank of India’s
According to of central bank’s annual reports. (RBI) gold reserve overseas immediately
after coming to power in May 2014. It
The scribe-turned-politician claimed
data provided by that the missing 200 tonne gold was the may be worth mentioning that under
the World Gold same which was bought by the Indian IMF’s limited gold sales programme in
2009, India had purchased gold worth
government from the International
Council, India’s Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2009. “What 31,490 crore from the Bretton Woods’
share of gold did the government get in return for ex- institution. Refusal to provide informa-
changing the gold? Why is the informa-
tion under the Right to Information Act
held globally tion about the transaction not available further confounded the matter.
In response to an RTI query in August
has been rising in the public domain?” Chaturvedi is 2018 seeking information on the quan-
now questioning.
steadily to stand When a row was created and there tity of gold stocked up in RBI’s Nagpur
at 6.2 per cent at was furor in the political circles over the vault, the central bank stated that the
revelations, the Reserve Bank of India
said information could not be disclosed
the end of 2018 (RBI) issued a clarification and said no as per the extent disclosure policy of the
and had gone up gold was shifted outside the country Reserve Bank of India.
In response to another question on
in 2014 or thereafter. The statement
further in came against the backdrop of reports in the quantity of gold held overseas, the
RBI replied that the “Reserve Bank of In-
certain sections of the print and social
January 2019 media regarding the central bank shift- dia holds 268.01 tonnes of gold overseas

Tehelka / 31 may 2019 48 www.Tehelka.com