Nizam did not donate 5000 kg of gold and Modi did not transfer 280 kg of the country’s gold for collateral.

A post is being shared on Facebook with the claim that while Nizam has donated his gold to save the country, Modi has used the country’s gold as collateral. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.

The archived version of the post can be found here.

Claim 1: Nizam donated 5000 kilograms of Gold to save the country
Fact: The government responded to an RTI query that it has no information on any such donation. Hence the claim made in the post remains Unverified.

When searched with the keywords “Nizam’s 5000 kg gold donation” on Google, a ‘The Hindu’ article on this issue can be found in the search results. According to the article, the government responded to an RTI query on this issue saying that it has no information on any such donation from Nizam. The same article provides information about an investment of 425 kg of gold by Nizam in National Defence Gold Scheme, which was floated in 1965 to overcome the economic crisis. So, Nizam did not make 5000 kg gold donation; he just made some investments (425 kg, not 5000 kg) into a Gold scheme which had an interest rate of 6.5 per cent.

Claim 2: Modi has used the 280 tonnes of the country’s gold as collateral.
Fact: India’s gold reserves are stored with the RBI. It clarified that no gold was shifted by RBI to other countries in 2014 or thereafter. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.

When searched for the issue on Google, it was found that RBI’s Chief General Manager Yogesh Dayal issued a press release to counter the media reports on this issue. In the press release, he said, “We have come across reports in certain sections of the print and social media regarding RBI shifting abroad a part of its gold holding in 2014. It is a normal practice for Central Banks world over, to keep their gold reserves overseas with Central Banks of other countries like Bank of England for safe custody. It is further stated that no gold was shifted by the RBI from India to other countries in 2014 or thereafter. Thus the media reports cited above are factually incorrect.” So, Modi did not use the country’s gold as collateral.