Government has allowed investors to redeem the medium and long term deposits in gold to make the gold monetisation scheme more attractive. The redemption in gold was already permitted for the Short Term Deposit. The move is expected to attract temple trusts, many of which have significant amount of gold under their control.In a release, Finance Ministry said Friday that for the gold deposited under Medium and Long Term Deposits, the redemption of principal at maturity shall be either in Cash or in Gold. While the interest will be paid only in Cash. Medium Term Deposit can be made for 5 to 7 years and Long Term Deposit for 12 to 15 years.Under the scheme, banks are authorised to collect gold for up to 15 years to auction them off or lend to jewellers from time to time. Depositors will earn up to 2.50 per cent interest per year.The scheme was launched in November last year to curb the imports of gold. India imports about 1,000 tonnes of gold every year and the precious metal is the second-highest component of the imports bill after crude oil.