That said I do think there is a LOT of confusion about what a "gold standard" is and how to define it. My low IQ answer is that a paper money is pegged to a fixed amount of gold. The fact that a fiat currency is "backed by gold" isn't really a "gold standard". If you think about the phrase this makes sense.

When the US was on a "gold standard" one could take a note and exchange it for gold. This is what was meant by being "backed in gold". In essence paper money was just a receipt for actual gold.

I think what you are describing in the rupee is that the treasury holds a variety of assets. A small portion of that is gold. It is my understanding that most if not all central banks do hold gold along with other assets.

I think Saifedean Ammous gets a lot of criticism for his ego but his books on bitcoin and fiat are well worth reading to get a better understanding of the fiat system, how it compares to bitcoin, and why it hasn't fallen yet. Saying fiat sucks gets a lot of zaps. Honestly, most of the time it doesn't bother me at all because I agree but there are plenty of new/young bitcoiners who seem pretty clueless about economics and fiat.

There is this misconception that fiat currencies like the dollar and rupee aren't backed by anything. That isn't true and if you think about it, if it were true bitcoin would never win. If fiat was truly not backed by anything how does it work? While fiat currencies are inflated and can't really be audited they aren't backed by nothing. I one sense the dollar is backed by our children. Tax cattle as some say. Its also backed by gold. A lot of gold. We do not know how much but my guess is its a massive stockpile. The issue is that the dollar float free of any tether like the market price of gold or bitcoin. Fiat means by decree after all.

I've been a big Ron Paul fan for years and his failure to get even an audit of the Federal Reserve should be instructive. There is a near zero chance we will ever see a gold standard ever again in any country. I do not believe the BRICS will have a truly gold standard currency. Not gonna happen.

Our only hope for sound money is bitcoin. Something that can't be faked and can be audited by anyone with computer.