Since ancient times to the modern generation in India, Gold has been a valuable commodity; this is the reason people have a high preference for Gold as an asset class, even for NRIs it is the safest and most profitable investment besides Real estate investment. The rising gold rate in India opens up opportunities for NRI Gold investment in India.  On analyzing the rise and fall in the rates, it has been observed that investing in Gold in any form as NRI Gold Bonds renders beneficial returns.

It has always been advisable from the experts that one should invest 5 to 15% of your total assets in gold. The growth in the rates of gold is significantly high which creates a high potential for investment in gold from outside India. It is highly beneficial for NRIs to invest in Gold due to its outstanding growth in its rates. The yellow metal had been used as a currency ages ago, but today it represents status in society. Seeing how much worth it has in investing gold, as it is an asset class and hedge against inflation, NRIs are more inclined in making investments in gold. These are the options available for NRIs to invest in gold:

Gold in physical form:

Buying bullion coins are advantageous as they come in various denominations from 2.5 grams to 50 grams with an international assay certification of its purity of being 24 karats pure gold. NRIs should buy it from the jewelers than from the bank because you can sell it back to the jeweler but not to the bank.

Gold in the Paper form:

• Gold ETF: For investing in Gold ETFs in India through the Stock Exchange, NRIs need to have a PINS account. They can buy it from Fund House but they essentially have to buy or sell in multiples of 1000 units.
• E-Gold: Small investors can invest in smaller denominations of 1 gram and multiples thereof in Demat form. This gold investment scheme works similarly to equity shares and it has high liquidity, no concerns for purity or storage costs.

Sovereign Gold Form:

The government of India has initiated this scheme with an interest rate of 2.5 % per annum; however, NRIs are not allowed to invest in these gold bonds. If they have already invested in these bonds before acquiring NRI status, they can hold it till early redemption or maturity.

Gold Funds:

Gold funds are investment options in the form of bars in various gold mining and production companies. Investment in Gold funds is very much similar to investing in mutual funds. At the time of inflation when prices of currency-based assets soar, investment in Gold is the safe-haven asset that gives good returns. It regains its value quickly at the time of the economic crunch. Another aspect is, it maintains its value at the time of inflation unlike currency-based assets whose price goes high but the value decreases.