The National Stock Exchange is promoting Electronic Gold Receipts backed by recycled and domestically processed gold as an alternative to buying physical gold.
The National Stock Exchange (NSE) has urged investors to buy Electronic Gold Receipts (EGR) instead of physical gold this Dhanteras, adding that India could avoid gold imports worth USD 5-6 billion annually if the gold fund held the NSE’s EGR and lent half of its combined 116 tonne gold holdings.
The stock exchange notes that each EGR traded on the exchange has been made entirely by physical gold recycled and refined in India, with a purity level of 995 or 999, stored in the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)-approved vault.
“Every NSE EGR is backed 100% by physical gold that has been recycled and refined in India, and stored in a SEBI-approved vault,” he said, emphasizing, “Every NSE EGR you buy is backed by gold recycled in India. Not a single gram is imported.”
NSE EGRs are backed by domestic source gold and can be held in a dematerialized account, traded in amounts ranging from 10 milligrams to one kilogram, and converted into physical gold.
NSE highlights potential for reduction in gold imports
According to NSE, India imported 721 tonnes worth USD 72 billion in FY26, representing a 24 percent increase in value over the previous financial year.
“Every 100 tonnes of domestic gold brought to the NSE EGR is about USD 10 billion off the import bill,” the exchange said.
The NSE estimates that Indian households hold between 25,000 and 35,000 tonnes of gold, much of which remains outside the formal financial system.
Exchange plans doorstep gold conversion facility
To mobilize these holdings, the exchange developed an application that allows households to convert their existing gold into EGR through doorstep collection or authorized collection centers.
The gold will be weighed, tested and credited to the investor’s demat account based on its pure gold content.
The NSE EGR segment recorded a turnover of Rs 97.5 crore
NSE launched the EGR segment on May 4, 2026, and has created an ecosystem that includes refineries, vaults, depositories, clearing infrastructure and market makers.
The segment recorded 2,781 trades involving 6,197 units, with a traded value of Rs 97.5 crore during the current financial year.
Trading is available from 9 am to 11:30 pm, with settlement on a T+1 basis.
“For now, NSE urges investors to buy NSE EGRs instead of physical gold,” the exchange said, adding that the initiative could save foreign exchange and strengthen India’s domestic gold ecosystem.
Published on November 7, 2026