Important Facts for Prelims (10th January 2019)

• 10 Jan 2019

Know India Programmes (KIP)

• The 51st edition of Know India Programmes (KIP) has been scheduled from January 5th to 29th January 2019 in partnership with Gujarat.
• The KIP is a 25-day orientation programme organized by the Ministry of External Affairs in partnership with the states of India.
• It’s objectives are:
  • Engage the students and young professionals of the Indian diaspora in the age group of 18 to 30 to connect with India.
  • To motivate and inspire young minds and to give them an exposure to various aspects of India’s art, heritage and culture and to promote awareness about different facets of life in the country and the progress made by India in various fields.
• The scheme was launched in 2004, and since then the Ministry of External Affairs has conducted 49 editions of KIP in which more than 1600 Indian youth have participated from overseas.

Gold Monetisation Scheme

• The Reserve Bank of India made some changes in the Gold Monetisation Scheme by including charitable institutions and the central government, among others.
• Apart from individual and joint depositors, the scheme could now be availed by charitable institutions, the central government, the state government or any other entity owned by the central government or the state government.
• Allowing government agencies to deposit gold will allow agencies to deposit what they had confiscated.

Gold Monetization Scheme

• Gold Monetization Schemes (GMS) was introduced in 2015.
• It facilitates the depositors of gold to earn interest on their metal accounts. Once the gold is deposited in metal account, it starts earning interest on the same.
• Under the scheme, a depositor gets 2.25% interest annually for a short-term deposit of one year to three years. Medium- and long-term deposits get 2.5% interest rate.
• The gold deposited will be lent by banks to jewellers at an interest rate little higher than the interest paid to customer.
• The objective of the Gold Monetisation scheme is to mobilize the gold held by households and institutions in the country to put this gold into productive use and in the long run to reduce the current account deficit by reducing the country’s reliance on the imports of gold to meet the domestic demand.
• It replaced the Gold Deposit schemes and Gold Metal Loan Schemes.
• Along with GMS, a Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme ( an alternative to purchasing metal gold) and development of Indian Gold Coin, were also announced.
• The Indian Gold Coin are the first ever national gold offerings by Government of India.
  • Such an Indian Gold Coin would help reduce the demand for coins minted outside India, and also help to recycle the gold available in the country.was also announced in 2015.
  • The coin is of 24 karat purity, and have the national emblem of Ashok Chakra engraved on one side and the face of Mahatma Gandhi on the other.
  • The Indian Gold Coin is align with the ‘Make in India’ initiative of Government.