Indians are obsessed with gold. You only need to look at the sheer amount held in households across the country to confirm it \u2014 combined, India holds one of the largest private gold reserves in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Traditionally that obsession has been rooted in physical gold, deeply tied to culture, festivals, and rituals. Over time, other avenues emerged: gold ETFs, Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGBs), gold mutual funds, and digital gold. Now there’s a new option \u2014 the Electronic Gold Receipt (EGR), which lets you buy real gold on a stock exchange and hold it in your demat account, just like shares, without making charges or storage hassles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This guide walks you through exactly how to buy EGRs in India, plus what you’re actually buying and how they stack up against other options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An Electronic Gold Receipt is a digital representation of physical gold ownership that can be traded on stock exchanges like NSE and BSE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Each EGR is backed 1:1 by actual gold (1 gram of gold = one unit) stored in regulator-approved vaults. So when you buy an EGR, you’re investing in real gold without holding it physically \u2014 the receipt simply proves your ownership. EGRs can be bought and sold during market hours like shares, and converted into physical gold whenever you want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They are classified as securities under the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956, which means they carry the same legal protections as equity investments. BSE launched EGRs back in October 2022, and NSE launched its own EGR segment on 4 May \u2014 a move expected to boost liquidity and help popularise EGRs as a gold investment<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you already invest in stocks or mutual funds, the process will feel very familiar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. Use your demat account.<\/strong> You can use your existing demat account with any SEBI-registered broker that offers access to the NSE or BSE EGR segment. No new or special account type is needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. Find the EGR listings.<\/strong> EGRs are listed on the exchange like any other security, in defined denominations (such as 10g or 100g) and with set purity standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. Place your order.<\/strong> During market hours (Monday to Friday), buy at the market price or set your own price with a limit order. Regular brokerage charges apply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4. Wait for settlement (T+1).<\/strong> By the next working day, the EGR is credited to your demat account. At that point you officially own gold \u2014 just in digital form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A note on broker access<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n EGRs are available on both NSE and BSE, but access still varies by broker. On BSE, only a few brokers currently support the segment, so you may need to hunt for one that does. NSE has only just launched its EGR segment, so wider broker integration may take some time. Check with your broker before assuming the segment is available to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once an EGR is in your demat account, you have three choices:<\/p>\n\n\n\nHow to buy EGRs: step by step<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What you can do after you buy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n