Data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) show outstanding gold loans at Rs 95,476 crore as on July 28, up 23.1% from a year earlier, a sharp acceleration from the single-digit growth in the preceding 12 months. Earlier this month, RBI doubled the limit on gold loans under the bullet repayment scheme — from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 4 lakh — for urban cooperative banks, subject to conditions. Central bank data show India owns more than 27,000 tonnes or 14% of the world’s gold, of which around 5,300 tonnes is pledged.