Electronic Gold Receipts

• Recently, the Government of India has notified the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Vault Manager) Regulations, 2021 for issuance of 'Electronic Gold Receipt' (EGR).
• In order to obtain EGR, the physical gold has to be deposited in the vault, which is a type of locker. This receipt is issued on the basis of deposit of physical gold.
• Gold Exchange will be a national platform for buying and selling of EGR. Investors can trade in EGR on the Stock Exchange and proposed Gold Exchange. This will pave the way for operationalisation of gold exchange in India.
• The transaction on Gold Exchange can be done in three ways – conversion of physical gold into EGR, trading of EGR on the stock exchange and conversion of EGR into physical gold.
• It will be regulated by SEBI. This includes vaulting, gold quality checks and delivery standards determination.