Mumbai, Feb 12 (PTI) The Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) on Friday welcomed the latest changes by the government in the Gold Monetisation Scheme (GMS), and said the scheme is a win-win for all as it will unlock tonnes of unused gold in India.

The government's decision to include jewellers as collection and purity testing centres (CPTCs) and the introduction of SoP for retailers on how to operate under GMS is a welcome move, GJEPC said in a statement.

GJEPC Chairman Colin Shah said, "We welcome the government's decision... We hope that the Indian Banks' Association will ensure seamless operation of GMS with the help of jewellers."

He added that the revamped Gold Monetisation Scheme is a win-win for all as it will unlock tonnes of unused gold in India. "This will not only benefit the consumer, retailer and banks, but the nation as well."

The revamped Gold Monetisation Scheme covers several aspects to make it more accessible and simple, including enhancement of participation by banks in GMS, dematerialisation of medium-term and long-term gold deposit certificates, and incentivising jewellers to participate in the revamped gold deposit scheme, among others.

The government came out with the revamped Gold Monetisation Scheme on Wednesday.

"India is estimated to import around 700 tonnes of gold every year, and is the second largest in terms of gold consumption after China," Shah said.

He added that the dependency of gold import will come down significantly as there will be local gold metal in the system.

"We anticipate that gold import in the next 3 years will gradually reduce by 30 per cent, which will help the country with current account deficit," Shah said.

GJEPC Convener (Gold Jewellery and Other Precious Metal Jewellery Panel Committee) K Srinivasan said, "Including jewellers as CPTCs is a welcome move. Jewellers will be benefited as it's an additional revenue for them and they will ensure that the scheme will be a great success." HRS hrs

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)