NSE Launches Electronic Gold Receipts to Enhance Transparency in Gold Market

Current Context: The National Stock Exchange (NSE) launched its Electronic Gold Receipts (EGRs) segment on May 4, 2026.

• An EGR is a digital certificate of ownership for physical gold, held in a Dematerialised (Demat) account like shares.
• Gold is stored in Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)-accredited vaults, meeting global purity standards (999/995 fineness).
• Each EGR is backed 1:1 by physical gold, ensuring transparency and trust.
• At launch, NSE successfully dematerialised a 1,000-gram gold bar into an EGR to prove system readiness.
• Holders can redeem EGRs into physical gold bars or coins, unlike many digital gold products.
• This bridges physical gold ownership with capital markets, boosting liquidity, efficiency, and transparency.

Question:

Q.1 The gold underlying Electronic Gold Receipts (EGRs) follows which purity benchmark?
a) 9999/995 fineness
b) 750/700 fineness
c) 16 fineness only
d) 585 fineness

Answer: a) The gold stored under the EGR framework meets internationally accepted purity standards of 999 and 995 fineness.