NSE joins hands with Augmont to strengthen India's Electronic Gold Receipts ecosystem

The National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) has entered into a strategic partnership with Augmont Enterprises, one of the country's leading integrated gold platforms, to accelerate the development of the Electronic Gold Receipts (EGR) ecosystem and deepen the exchange-regulated spot gold market.

Under the collaboration, the two organisations will work together to strengthen key aspects of the EGR ecosystem, including the creation and redemption of Electronic Gold Receipts, liquidity enhancement, physical delivery and transparent price discovery. The partnership also aims to broaden participation among investors, jewellers and other stakeholders, helping drive wider adoption of EGRs across the gold value chain.

NSE launched Electronic Gold Receipts on May 4, 2026, introducing a regulated mechanism that allows physical gold to be converted into dematerialised securities and held in investors' demat accounts. 

These exchange-traded instruments enable investors to buy, sell, pledge, redeem and transfer ownership of gold in a transparent and efficient manner while retaining the option of physical redemption.

EGRs are designed to improve price discovery by bringing gold trading onto an exchange platform while also creating new avenues for investors to monetise their holdings.

India is estimated to have 30,000-35,000 tonnes of gold held by households and private owners. Electronic Gold Receipts provide a formal, regulated framework to mobilise this vast stock of privately held gold into the financial system, enabling it to become a productive financial asset rather than remaining idle.

One of the key features of the EGR framework is its integration with the **Securities Lending and Borrowing (SLB) mechanism. Through this facility, EGR holders can lend their gold to jewellery manufacturers and other eligible participants while continuing to retain ownership of the underlying asset and benefiting from any movement in gold prices.

The development of a robust domestic EGR market could also help reduce India's dependence on imported bullion. The country imported gold worth nearly USD 71.98 billion in FY26, making it one of the world's largest gold importers. 

By encouraging the circulation of domestically held gold through a regulated exchange ecosystem, the EGR framework has the potential to improve supply-chain efficiency, enhance liquidity in the gold market and support India's broader economic and financial objectives.

Sriram Krishnan, Chief Business Development Officer (CBDO), NSE, said, "The NSE EGR framework has been created to establish a transparent, efficient and exchange-regulated marketplace for physical gold in India. As more participants join the ecosystem, the market will benefit from improved liquidity, greater standardisation and wider investor participation. The empanelment of refiners and participation of liquidity providers are key building blocks in developing a trusted and robust bullion market infrastructure."