India’s gold monetisation scheme could undergo a major overhaul, offering jewellers incentives to promote the programme and increase the circulation of idle household gold, potentially transforming the sector and improving liquidity.
India’s Gold Monetisation Scheme could be headed for a significant redesign, with jewellers potentially paid as much as 1% for routing customers’ old gold into the system, according to TV9 Hindi and the India Bullion and Jewellers Association. The proposal is meant to widen participation by shifting more of the customer-facing work from banks to retail jewellers, who already act as the main point of contact for most gold buyers. IBJA president Prithviraj Kothari said the idea would give jewellers a direct commercial reason to promote the scheme.
The revised model would keep the deposit itself within the banking system, but jewellers would handle collection and delivery of the metal to refiners. Kothari said the proposed incentive could range from 0.75% to 1%, although the final decision rests with the government. According to the scheme’s existing framework, gold is normally deposited through authorised collection and purity testing centres, where it is assessed, refined and then credited to a gold deposit account. The Bureau of Indian Standards said as of July 18, 2025, 48 assaying and hallmarking centres and one jeweller had been approved to act as collection and purity testing centres.
The policy push reflects a long-running government effort to bring idle household gold into formal circulation and trim import demand. India’s Economic Survey has previously estimated that the country holds large quantities of privately owned gold, while the monetisation programme, launched in 2015, was designed to channel that metal into lending and manufacturing. Under the scheme, depositors can earn interest and later receive value either in gold or rupees, depending on the terms chosen.
Industry participants say the latest rethink could make the programme more practical for consumers. Senco Gold & Diamonds managing director and chief executive Suvankar Sen said it could bring more customers into stores and strengthen engagement with the trade. LiveMint reported that officials are also examining e-gold units as part of broader efforts to unlock idle gold and improve liquidity, suggesting the government is considering several ways to make the asset more usable without forcing households to sell outright.
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