Russia’s SBER Bank has been given permission by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to import gold for domestic consumption for the January-March period.
Bank’s list
The bank’s name gets added to the list of banks authorised to import gold into India. Other two banks on the list are Indian Overseas Bank and Union Bank of India, according to a notification by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT)
SBER’s Strategic Role
SBER Bank is the key player along with Russia’s VTB Bank in facilitating local currency trade between the two countries. The bulk of the business is handled by SBER. The Bank has announced aggressive expansion plans in India during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India early this month.