The National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) began live trading in its Electronic Gold Receipts (EGRs) segment on Monday, 18 May 2026, marking the start of exchange-based trading in dematerialised gold receipts. NSE said the rollout followed a mock trading exercise held on Saturday, 16 May, which was completed without errors or system exceptions, after which live trading began with all systems functioning as designed.

The exchange said the product has received a strong response from market participants and the wider ecosystem. Vaulting and collection centres are already operational in Ahmedabad and Mumbai, while four more centres in Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore are being activated from today. NSE said additional centres will be announced in phases, with the network set to expand to 120 centres across the country over time.

NSE had introduced Electronic Gold Receipts, or EGRs, on 4 May as a new segment aimed at bringing greater transparency, efficiency and formalisation to India’s gold market. EGRs are dematerialised securities that represent ownership of physical gold. The underlying gold is stored in SEBI-accredited vaults and held electronically through depositories, allowing the receipts to be traded on the exchange.

The exchange said gold holds a distinct place in India and that EGRs are designed to bridge the gap between physical gold and financial markets. The receipts are linked to standardised gold and allow market-based price discovery, electronic holding and the flexibility to buy and sell in defined denominations and purity. They can also be converted to and from physical gold through the prescribed process. NSE also recorded the successful dematerialisation of a 1,000-gram gold bar into an EGR, which it said showed the operational readiness of the framework.

Among the features highlighted by the exchange are unified pricing described as 'one nation, one price', exchange trading, liquidity, assured gold quality, fungibility of delivery, settlement guarantee, portfolio diversification and the convenience of holding gold through a demat account. NSE said the framework combines physical backing, regulated storage and electronic trading, while offering a formal channel for jewellers, refiners, traders, institutional investors and other participants.

To buy EGRs, investors must first have both a demat account and a trading account with a SEBI-registered stockbroker. NSE said these receipts cannot be bought or sold without trading access. Investors also need to complete know-your-customer verification by submitting documents such as PAN, Aadhaar, bank account details and address proof. Once verification is completed, trading access is activated. Investors must also check whether their broker has enabled the EGR segment on its platform.

After access is available, investors can search for EGR contracts by denomination. NSE said the units are available in 1 kilogram, 100 grams, 10 grams, 1 gram and 100 milligrams, allowing participation in smaller quantities as well. Prices move in line with gold prices in domestic and global markets.

Investors can select the denomination, enter the quantity, check the live market price and place a buy order during trading hours. After settlement, the purchased units are credited to the investor’s demat account. NSE said EGRs currently follow a T+1 settlement cycle, after which investors can hold, track or sell the units during market hours.

With live trading now under way, NSE’s EGR segment has opened as a digital route to gold ownership backed by physical gold in regulated vaults. The exchange said the launch is expected to support a more transparent and efficient gold market while giving investors another exchange-traded option to buy, hold and trade gold.