RTI reply: 197.67 tonnes of RBI gold held abroad, cost of upkeep not disclosed

Nagpur: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) held a total of 880.52 metric tonnes of gold as of March 2026, according to information received under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. Of this, 197.67 tonnes is kept abroad, with the Bank of England and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). The remaining 680.05 tonnes is in India. Another 2.80 tonnes is held in the form of gold deposits.

The information was sought by social activist Abhay Kolarkar. He had asked the RBI questions on gold reserves, dollar transactions, banking fraud, cyber crime and unclaimed deposits.

However, the RBI did not say how much was spent on maintaining, securing and transporting the gold over the past five years. The bank said that disclosing such information could harm the country's security and economic interests. The reply made clear where the gold is kept, but gave no account of what it cost to store, handle and move it.

According to the RBI's monthly bulletin for September 2026, its gold reserves were valued at Rs 11,10,438 crore on August 28, 2026.

The RTI reply also details dollar transactions. In financial year 2023-24, the RBI made net purchases of $41.271 billion. In 2024-25, it made net sales of $34.511 billion. Net sales in 2025-26 were $53.132 billion. In 2026-27, up to July 31, it has recorded net purchases of $4.165 billion. The figures show that after net purchases in 2023-24, there were large net sales in the next two financial years.

On recovery of losses from fraud, too, the RBI gave little. It said it does not keep a separate record of how much of the losses from banking and cyber fraud has been recovered. The total value of unclaimed deposits, the number of such accounts and specific details of losses from cyber fraud are also not available in the form sought.

The RBI also said that under the RTI Act, public authorities are not required to prepare or compile information that is not already in their records.

The reply gives a glimpse of the country's gold reserves and foreign exchange transactions. It also shows that some of the financial and fraud-related information the applicant sought is not available.