Indian Gold Book:Indian Gold Book - Gold Bars Worldwide

1947 March Foreign Exchange Regulation Act. Bullion imports and exports banned.
1956 November Kolar Gold Mining Undertakings (Acquisition) Act. Gold mining nationalised.
1958 Government decides to retain domestic gold mine output as part of unofficial reserves.
1962 November 15 year 6.5% Gold Bond issued in exchange for gold bars, coins and jewellery. Redeemable in rupees
at par on 5 November 1977. 16.3 tonnes subscribed.
Government urges the public to refrain from buying gold, and to surrender their holdings. Advised
commercial banks to consider recalling loans backed by gold. Forward trading in gold was banned.
1963 January Gold Control Rules. Promulgated, imposing severe restrictions on the gold industry. Prohibited the
manufacture of gold jewellery above 14 carat.
1963 December Gold Control Rules. Control over the domestic trade and distribution of gold was firmly established.
1965 March 15 year 7% Gold Bonds issued in exchange for gold bars, coins and jewellery. Redeemable in rupees
from 2 March 1980. 6.1 tonnes subscribed.
October 15 year 6.5% National Defence Gold Bonds 1980. Issued in exchange for gold bars, coins and
jewellery. Interest fixed at 2% per 10 g at 995 purity. Redeemable in gold bars from 27 October
1980. 13.7 tonnes subscribed.
1966 November Defence of India (Fourth Amendment) Rules. Permitted fabrication of gold jewellery above
K14. Banned private possession of primary gold (e.g. bars). Gold jewellery above specified limits had
to be declared. Stricter control over gold refineries applied with the ultimate objective of
bringing gold refining under State ownership.
1966 Gem & Jewellery Export Council established.
1968 September Gold (Control) Act 1968 established controls on a permanent basis, with only minor changes in
subsequent years.
1975 Voluntary disclosure of Income and Wealth (Amendment) Ordinance 1965. Granted
immunity from prosecution for disclosures of wealth and gold within a defined period.
1978 April Gold Auctions. Between April - October, the Government held 14 auctions for sale to licensed
dealers and certified goldsmiths. 13 tonnes sold.
1986 Review of Gold (Control) Act initiated. Government sets up “Working Group to Review Gold
Policy”.
1988 SEEPZ. Jewellery exporters were allowed to establish fabrication units in Mumbai’s EPZ (Export
Processing Zone).
1990 June Repeal of Gold (Control) Act. Domestic trade deregulated. Dealers, fabricators, retailers and
refiners could operate without need for licences. Restrictions on the private ownership of gold were
removed. However, at this stage, there was no policy to facilitate the official import of gold.
Source: Various sources, including Madhusudan Daga
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ROLE OF INDIAN GOVERNMENT
CHRONOLOGY OF INDIAN GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES 1947 - 1990
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE INDIAN GOLD MARKET