The Tirupati Balaji temple management said it has deposited 1,311 kg of gold with a public sector bank under the Gold Monetisation Scheme and is negotiating for better terms for making more such deposits.
The depoit of 1,311 kg of pure gold bars of 0.995 fineness was made with the Punjab National Bank on Monday, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthana-ms (TTD) said in a statement.
The TTD manages the Balaji or Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh. It is believed to be the richest temple in the world, with annual offerings from devotees worth hundreds of crores of rupees.
The deposit was made under the three-year short term Gold Monetisation Scheme and the PNB was chosen because it quoted the higest interest rate at 1.75 percent per annum, said the statement, citing TTD Executive Officer D Sambasiva Rao.
The short term scheme has the advantage that the deposit can be redeemed in gold which temples like Tirupati favour.
The TTD has written to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the central government to amend the gold monetisation scheme.