Gold coins of 24 carats will now also be sold at India Post outlets across the country, as an agreement has been reached between India Post and World Gold Council and Reliance Money Limited. The scope includes WGC marketing the Swiss Medallions to be supplied by Reliance Money, and India Post outlets being the point of purchase. The pilot venture will cover 100 India Post outlets in Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Gujarat.

The service was launched on 15 October 2008 in Delhi, by Thiru A. Raja, Hon’ble Minister of Communications and IT, at The Metropolitan Hotel, with Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, Minister of State for Communications & IT invited as guest of honour.

The gold coins will be sold in denomination of 0.5 g, 1 g, 5 g and 8 g of 24 carat, packed in a sealed cover certified by Valcambi, Switzerland. The certificate is similar to the internationally recognised certification, stating low risk of duplication, quality packaging, product standardisation, numbering and assayer certificate. Mr. Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Director and CEO, Reliance Money, said, “We want to take the culture of structured investments in gold to the masses through India Post and provide gold at impeccable quality, quantity and price points”.

As pointed out by the Minister of Communications and IT, the initial phase will be a pilot launch across 102 Post Offices. During Phase-II, Post Offices will be selling gold coins with India Post logo”. The venture is likely to boost the image of India Post as a modern and relevant organisation, extending its portfolio of retail from UPSC and university applications, Darjeeling Tea in West Bengal, Aloe Vera products in Gujarat and Prasadams of various temples in Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.

With a high growth Indian economy, retail sector is growing at a very fast pace. This pilot project on the sale of gold coins will be a beginning of many more such retail services that India Post will undertake. Ajay Mitra, Managing Director, WGC, said, “Retailing gold through India Post is a ground-breaking initiative in the Indian investment sector and one of its kind in the world. We applaud this entrepreneurial initiative from India Post in providing premium quality Gold Coins to the common people”. As gold has been the traditional investment and heritage asset in India, the initiative is being perceived to be successful and operational for a long time.