Electronic Gold Receipts: a new way to own gold
Electronic Gold Receipts allow investors to own gold in electronic form while the underlying metal remains stored in regulated vaults, combining bullion ownership with exchange-style trading.
- Electronic Gold Receipts are traded instruments that represent gold stored in regulated vaults.
- SEBI’s 2021 framework covered gold exchanges and vault managers before the market launch of Electronic Gold Receipts.
- The Government of India treated Electronic Gold Receipts as securities.
- The Bombay Stock Exchange launched the first Electronic Gold Receipt segment.
Electronic Gold Receipts (EGRs) create a way to own gold electronically while the underlying bullion stays in regulated vaults. The topic matters for UPSC because it sits at the intersection of the securities market, gold monetisation, and investor convenience.
What happened
The regulatory path for EGRs moved in stages. Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) issued a framework in 2021 for gold exchanges and vault managers. The Government of India later notified EGRs as securities. In 2022, a risk-management framework followed, and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) launched the first EGR segment.
UPSC can frame EGRs as a securities-market innovation that formalises gold ownership, improves traceability, and reduces the frictions of physical gold, while also asking about regulation, settlement, and the trade-off between convenience and delivery-related costs.
