Faith and the Economy
Temple Gold and Gold Monetisation
Why Indian temples hold large amounts of gold, why this gold sits idle, and how the Gold Monetisation Scheme tried to put it to work.
Indian temples hold large amounts of gold from devotees’ offerings.
How much
- Estimates suggest Indian temples collectively hold thousands of tonnes of gold.
- The Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple in Kerala drew attention in 2011 when vaults opened under Supreme Court supervision revealed treasures worth enormous sums.
Idle gold
Gold in temple vaults earns nothing and doesn’t circulate in the economy. Meanwhile, India imports large amounts of gold every year, affecting its trade deficit.
Gold Monetisation Scheme
Launched in 2015, the scheme let individuals and institutions deposit gold with banks and earn interest.
- The gold could be melted and lent to jewellers, reducing the need for imports.
- Tirumala and other temples deposited tonnes of gold.
Changes
In 2025, the government discontinued the medium- and long-term deposit parts of the scheme, citing market conditions, while short-term deposits continued at banks’ discretion.
Challenges
- Sentiment: devotees and temples hesitate to melt offered gold.
- Purity testing and logistics.
A temple deposits several tonnes of gold with a bank under the scheme. The bank melts it into bars and lends it to jewellers, and the temple earns interest.
Idle gold earns nothing and doesn't reduce imports unless mobilised.
- Indian temples hold thousands of tonnes of gold.
- Idle gold doesn't circulate, while India imports gold.
- The 2015 Gold Monetisation Scheme let institutions deposit gold for interest.
- Parts of the scheme were discontinued in 2025.
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