The Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) has announced a revolutionary transformation of India's gold monetisation landscape through its latest circular MCX/PMT/375/2026 dated July 1, 2026, effective July 13, 2026. According to recent reports, this two-page exchange circular has quietly done what banks couldn't: built a pipeline that takes household gold from a refiner's furnace straight to a futures contract - no bank, no deposit certificate, no scheme required. The circular empanels three new domestic refiners and expands the good-delivery list of existing refiners across all MCX gold futures contracts, including the benchmark 1kg Gold contract. This development represents a complete shift from the traditional Gold Monetisation Scheme (GMS) to a market-driven, exchange-based monetisation mechanism that provides households with immediate, exchange-referenced value for metal they were never going to deposit anyway.
As part of the revolutionary changes, MCX has empanelled three new domestic refiners under its Good Delivery norms. According to the exchange announcement, M.D. Overseas Pvt. Ltd., Kundan Refinery Pvt. Ltd. and Zaveri and Company Pvt. Ltd. have been approved as domestic refiners. Their specified gold products will now be eligible for delivery against MCX gold futures contracts, subject to refinery- and product-specific approvals. This expansion significantly increases the number of approved refiners in the exchange's delivery network, with these refiners not mining gold but processing recycled material - old jewellery, coins, scrap bought from households, jewellers and aggregators in the open market. The refiner-to-exchange pipeline provides BIS-standard purity, serially numbered bars, polled spot-linked settlement prices, and a clearing corporation as counterparty, addressing the core plumbing problems that previous schemes failed to solve.
Following the changes, bullion produced by the newly empanelled refiners and the expanded list of approved refiners will be accepted for meeting delivery obligations across MCX's comprehensive gold futures portfolio. According to the exchange, this includes Gold (1 kg), Gold Mini (100 gm), Gold Ten (10 gm), Gold Guinea (8 gm) and Gold Petal (1 gm) futures contracts. The refiner-to-exchange pipeline provides all four essential elements by construction: BIS-standard purity, serially numbered bars, polled spot-linked settlement prices, and a clearing corporation as counterparty. With import duty pushing landed costs of foreign gold higher, recycled domestic metal is the cheapest feedstock a refiner can find - and after the Prime Minister's deferral appeal, jewellers report that 40-60% of their business has shifted to recycling and exchange of old gold. The economics have already aligned, with the supply walking in the door and the MCX circular giving it institutional destination.
The MCX changes are expected to have significant implications for silver markets following recent government policy shifts. As reported by The Economic Times, the Centre imposed curbs on silver imports on May 16, three days after hiking customs duties on precious metals from 6% to 15%. James Jose, president of the Precious Metals Refineries Forum, noted that silver recovered as a by-product during the refining of impure gold or dore gold can now more easily enter the organised market through MCX-approved refiners, helping improve domestic availability at a time of tighter import supplies. India imports 7,000-8,000 tonnes of silver annually to meet domestic demand, making the new ecosystem particularly beneficial for silver monetisation. The refiner-to-exchange pipeline creates a transparent, exchange-linked outlet for recycled gold that could gradually increase domestic bullion availability and deepen the organised recycling industry.
MCX stated that the revision has been made in continuation of its earlier circular on revising Good Delivery norms for BIS-standard gold and silver and in accordance with the applicable SEBI framework governing commodity derivatives contract specifications. As reported by Business Standard, this regulatory alignment ensures that the exchange's delivery standards remain compliant with established market practices and regulatory requirements for commodity derivatives trading. The market response has been significant, with the gold market holding its breath for two weeks as sources-based reports suggested the Centre was about to announce a revamped Gold Monetisation Scheme with jewellers as collection partners and over 1,000 tonnes to be mobilised. However, people familiar with the government's thinking say no new gold monetisation scheme is coming, as the exchange ecosystem has already closed the loop without asking for incentives or tax breaks. The honest to-do list for the government remains short and unglamorous: rationalise capital-gains treatment of gold sold for recycling, keep BIS assaying credible, and let the empanelled-refiner list grow.
