Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) is positioning fintech partnerships as the cornerstone of its next growth phase, with CEO Praveena Rai emphasizing that the exchange already has established basics including products, participants, and trading platform. Speaking to CNBC TV18 at Global Fintech Fest 2026, Rai stated that "the next level of experiential change will come really from the magic of fintech." The exchange is focusing on building technology partnerships rather than developing solutions internally, recognizing that actual innovation in customer experience tends to happen at the edges where fintechs are free to experiment with data analytics and AI in ways an exchange typically can't. This strategic pivot comes as MCX signed fresh MoUs at GFF 2026, with the Commodity Market Innovation Council (CMIC) serving as the centerpiece of these partnerships.
Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) and the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) have signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a Commodity Markets Innovation Council (CMIC). According to reports from The Economic Times and Rediff Moneynews, the MoU was signed at the Global Fintech Fest 2026 in Mumbai, creating an industry-led platform designed to drive fintech-led innovation in India's commodity markets. The council will operate as a consultative and developmental platform bringing together stakeholders, startups and technology players to identify challenges, develop digital solutions, improve market access and support wider participation and efficiency. As reported by CNBC TV18, the CMIC is modelled loosely on existing groups like the Payments Council of India and the Fintech Convergence Council, with Rai noting the idea is "We wish to bring together the right parties, the interested parties doing very cutting-edge and emerging work in the space of fintechs who are already in capital markets or interested to come into capital markets."
According to The Economic Times and Rediff Moneynews, the council will be established within the next three months with a charter defining its structure, priorities and annual activities to be prepared jointly. The charter will align with those prepared for other IAMAI councils such as FCC and PCI. Dr Subho Ray, President of IAMAI, emphasized that the council will bring together India's technology and commodity ecosystems to encourage innovation and create new opportunities for commodity market development. The platform will provide a collaborative space where stakeholders from the fintech, financial services and commodity sectors can identify challenges, exchange ideas, and explore practical solutions for the development of India's commodity markets.
Sebi has revised commodity derivatives position limits and penalties, effective immediately, introducing a new framework that caps violation charges and strengthens action against repeated breaches. The regulator said the existing position limit framework was introduced in 2017 and aligned with market conditions at that time, but has now modified the norms after receiving representations to review position limits for agri commodity derivatives and to cap penalties for position limit violations. Under the revised framework, the monetary penalty on a trading member for client-level open interest violations will link to the quantum or value of the violation, charged for every day of violation. Where the violation is more than 2% of the prescribed limit, the penalty will be calculated as the limit exceeded multiplied by the closing price, number of days of violation and 2%, or ₹2 lakh, whichever is lower. For violations up to 2% of the prescribed limit, the penalty will be calculated by the same formula, or ₹10,000, whichever is lower.
As reported by The Economic Times, MCX is India's leading commodity derivatives exchange and the largest commodity options exchange globally, according to FIA 2025. The exchange has been operational since 2003 and reported FY26 throughput of ₹1,350 lakh crore with a market share of over 98.5% in terms of the value of commodity futures contracts traded in Q1. MCX offers trading across bullion, energy, metals, agri commodities and sectoral commodity indices, with strategic alliances with international exchanges and trade associations.
