The Central government on Thursday launched three gold-related schemes – gold monetisation, sovereign gold bonds, and an Indian gold coin – on Thursday. All three schemes are expected to reduce the demand for physical gold. The announcement was made ahead of Dhanteras and Diwali, when gold purchases shoot up.

The government's gold monetisation scheme aims to transfer more than 20,000 tonnes of idle gold from households and lockers into the banking system. Modi claimed the move would empower women as their chief form of fixed wealth is gold, in the face of practices that do not allow them property and other assets. Modi also unveiled the first ever national gold coin minted in India, which is engraved with the Ashok Chakra.

Earlier in the day, the government had launched another project, called Impacting Research Innovation and Technology India, which hopes to boost local technological research in areas where the country depends heavily on foreign work. Called Imprint India in short, the initiative will involve the Indian Institutes of Technology and Indian Institute of Science, among others, and set up a group of ministers to allot funds to India's leading institutions. This is expected to ease the research grant process, which the country’s scientists say is bogged down by bureaucracy.

The prime minister also emphasised on indigenous manufacturing to help slash the defence budget by 50% within a decade.