Every corner of India is celebrating the auspicious occasion of Dhanteras with great excitement. There is a heavy rush at jewelry shops as people look to buy a piece of gold to mark the festival. This day which is the beginning of Diwali festival, is one of the best days for buying gold. As a result, today, there are a flood of offers on finished jewelries either be it on gold, silver, diamond or platinum. Also, many jewelers take the opportunity of Dhanteras to lure customers with best deals. Even gold coins and gold bars are purchased in quite hefty amounts. However, the largest lender SBI has taken one step ahead in making Dhanteras festival even more enjoyable. It has offered sovereign gold bonds and assured investors of an annual return of 2.5% per annum. When it comes to investing in sovereign bonds, although the name suggests gold however, it is nothing like the physical yellow metal. It's like making money from your gold purchases! 

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SBI through its official Twitter account says, "Start your golden celebrations on an auspicious note by investing in the Sovereign Gold Bonds Scheme."

One can subscribe to SBI's sovereign bonds between November 05 to November 09. Not only this, even low-budget investors can purchase these bonds as SBI is offering it at Rs 3,183 per gram. Also, SBI is offering Rs 50 discount on per gram of sovereign bonds, if investment made via online. 

The moment you invest in sovereign gold bonds at SBI, you are eligible for a annual return of 2.5% on them. That is like icing to the cake on your gold investment, whereas there is not much guarantee on the valuation of your physical gold purchase. 

Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme was launched by Govt in November 2015, under Gold Monetisation Scheme. Under the scheme, the issues are made open for subscription in tranches by RBI in consultation with GOI. 

If you are planning to invest in SGB at SBI, this is what you should know. 

The Bonds will be restricted for sale to resident Indian entities including individuals (in his capacity as individual, or on behalf of minor child, or jointly with any other individual), HUFs, Trusts, Universities and Charitable Institutions.

The Bonds will be denominated in multiples of gram(s) of gold with a basic unit of 1 gram.

The tenor of the Bond will be for a period of 8 years with exit option in 5th, 6th and 7th year, to be exercised on the interest payment dates.

Minimum permissible investment will be 1 gram of gold. The maximum limit of subscribed shall be 4 KG for individual, 4 Kg for HUF and 20 Kg for trusts and similar entities per fiscal year (April-March) notified by the Government from time to time.

In case of joint holding, the investment limit of 4 KG will be applied to the first applicant only.

Payment for the Bonds will be through cash payment (up to a maximum of Rs. 20,000/-) or demand draft or cheque or electronic banking.

The redemption price will be in Indian Rupees based on simple average of closing price of gold of 999 purity of previous 3 working days published by IBJA.

The investors will be compensated at a fixed rate of 2.50% per annum payable semi-annually on the nominal value.

Guess what! You can even apply for loan against sovereign bonds. 

SBI mentions on its website that, bonds can be used as collateral for loans. The loan-to-value (LTV) ratio is to be set equal to ordinary gold loan mandated by the Reserve Bank from time to time. The lien on the bond shall be marked in the depository by the authorised banks.

For purchase of the SGB, KYC documents such as Voter ID, Aadhaar card/PAN or TAN /Passport will be required.

Bonds will be tradable on stock exchanges within a fortnight of the issuance on a date as notified by the RBI.

So, what are you waiting for? Make most of your Dhanteras and enjoy the benefits of SGBs this festival!