THEBUSINESSBYTES BUREAU

MUMBAI, JULY 15, 2026

In a major step towards transforming India's gold market, the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) has entered into a strategic collaboration with Augmont Enterprises Limited to strengthen the country's emerging Electronic Gold Receipts (EGR) ecosystem. The partnership is expected to boost liquidity, enhance price discovery, and accelerate the adoption of exchange-traded digital gold among investors, jewellers, and other market participants.

The collaboration will leverage Augmont's expertise in EGR creation, redemption, liquidity provision, delivery, and price discovery, reinforcing NSE's vision of building a transparent, efficient, and exchange-regulated spot gold market. The initiative comes shortly after NSE launched Electronic Gold Receipts on May 4, 2026, enabling physical gold to be converted into dematerialised securities that can be traded, pledged, redeemed, or lent through investors' demat accounts.

India is estimated to hold nearly 30,000–35,000 tonnes of gold in private hands. EGRs are designed to unlock this vast idle asset by bringing it into the formal financial system, allowing investors to retain ownership while lending gold to jewellery manufacturers through the Securities Lending and Borrowing (SLB) framework. The mechanism is expected to improve capital efficiency and create a more organised bullion ecosystem.

The initiative also aligns with India's broader economic goals of reducing dependence on imported bullion. With gold imports touching approximately USD 71.98 billion during FY26, increased mobilisation of domestically held gold through regulated exchange mechanisms could significantly enhance the efficiency and sustainability of the country's gold value chain.

Commenting on the partnership, Sriram Krishnan, Chief Business Development Officer at NSE, said the EGR framework has been designed to create a trusted marketplace for physical gold, where greater participation from refiners, liquidity providers, investors, and jewellers will drive standardisation, transparency, and deeper market liquidity.

Ketan Kothari, Director of Augmont Enterprises Limited, described EGRs as having the potential to become "India's UPI moment for gold," highlighting their ability to formalise household gold holdings through a secure, transparent, and exchange-backed digital ecosystem. He added that Augmont is committed to deploying its integrated platform to drive EGR creation, liquidity, and large-scale adoption.

Echoing this sentiment, Surendra Mehta, National Secretary of the India Bullion and Jewellers Association (IBJA), said EGRs could redefine India's organised gold market by offering exchange-based price discovery, guaranteed settlement, standardised quality, and an efficient lending mechanism that channels idle gold directly to manufacturers.