Augmont Enterprises has entered into a strategic tie-up with the National Stock Exchange (NSE) to accelerate adoption of Electronic Gold Receipts (EGRs), according to a company statement. The move aims to create an exchange-regulated marketplace for physical gold in India, pending resolution of a GST issue with the government.
EGRs are SEBI-regulated, exchange-traded instruments that convert physical gold into a dematerialised security held in investors’ demat accounts. Ketan Kothari, Whole-time Director at Augmont, said the company has already developed the required IT infrastructure and expects to list its EGRs within three months, provided the GST issue is settled. Both Augmont and NSE have made representations to Sebi, the RBI and the Government to defer GST collection on gold marked for conversion into EGRs.
GST Resolution and Industry Proposal
The industry has suggested that the government refund the 3 per cent GST on gold deposited for EGR conversion and collect the same when the EGRs are converted back to physical gold by investors. Kothari said the government is expected to take a decision in two to three months, adding there will be no revenue loss for the government.
Augmont’s Integrated Ecosystem
Augmont will deploy its comprehensive ecosystem for EGR creation, redemption, liquidity provision, delivery and price discovery. The platform brings together:
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Registered users | Over 4.2 crore |
| Jeweller network on SPOT platform | About 4,975 |
| Retail touchpoints | Over 4,600 |
| Gold For All stores | 80 |
| API integrations (stockbrokers, financial service providers) | Multiple |
Augmont is also an India Good Delivery accredited refiner, empanelled across exchanges including MCX for futures delivery across all gold contracts, and is an authorised participant for gold ETFs. This creates a natural bridge between the ETF and EGR ecosystems, the company said.
Benefits of Electronic Gold Receipts
EGRs enable physical gold to be held, traded, pledged and lent through a single exchange-regulated framework. India holds an estimated 30,000–35,000 tonnes of gold in private hands. Gold depositors under EGR will retain full price exposure and can earn a return by lending their gold to jewellery manufacturers through NSE’s Securities Lending and Borrowing (SLB) platform.
Sriram Krishnan, Chief Business Development Officer at NSE, said the NSE EGR framework has been created to establish a transparent, efficient and exchange-regulated marketplace for physical gold in India. He added that the empanelment of refiners and participation of liquidity providers are key building blocks in developing a trusted and robust bullion market infrastructure.
Industry Perspective on Scale
Surendra Mehta, National Secretary of the India Bullion and Jewellers Association, said EGRs can be 100 times what the tokenised gold market is today. “They offer something no blockchain-based gold product can by providing exchange-traded price discovery, guaranteed settlement, standardised quality and a lending mechanism that channels idle gold directly to the manufacturers,” he said.
Implications for Treasury Professionals and Investors
For finance executives and treasury professionals, the EGR framework introduces a regulated channel to monetise idle gold holdings. Instead of holding unproductive physical gold, companies and institutional investors can now earn returns via securities lending while retaining price exposure. The partnership between Augmont and NSE, pending GST clarity, could significantly deepen India’s gold market liquidity and provide a transparent benchmark for gold pricing. The ecosystem’s size (over 4.2 crore users, 4,600 retail points) suggests potential for broad adoption, offering a new asset class for trade finance and portfolio diversification.
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