Lok Sabha Question No. 2403 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-15
Subject: Regulation of Digital Gold in India
Ministry: FINANCE
Asked by: Shri Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy, Shri G M Harish Balayogi, Shri Putta Mahesh Kumar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FINANCE DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2403

TO BE ANSWERED ON MONDAY, 15TH DECEMBER 2025

## Regulation of Digital Gold in India

2403: Shri Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy:

Shri G M Harish Balayogi:

Shri Putta Mahesh Kumar:

## Will the Minister of Finance be pleased to state:

- a) the details regarding the list of entities registered with the Government and/or its agencies that  carry  out  sale  and  purchase  of  digital  gold,  especially  those  that  are  based  in  foreign countries;
- b) the details regarding the total amount of digital gold purchased by Indian citizens during the last five years especially in Andhra Pradesh, State-wise;
- c) the details regarding the total number of complaints received by the Government regarding the sale/purchase of digital gold in the country during the last five years and especially from Andhra Pradesh, State-wise; and
- d)  whether  the  Government  has  launched  any  campaigns/initiatives  to  increase  awareness regarding digital gold, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY FOR FINANCE (SHRI PANKAJ CHAUDHARY)

- (a) & (b): No such details are maintained by the Government.
- (c): The  State-wise  details  of  consumer  grievances  related  to  digital  gold  received  on  the National Consumer Helpline during 2020 to 2025 (till Nov 25), including from the State of Andhra Pradesh, are given in the Annexure-I .
- (d): The Government has not launched any campaigns or initiatives specifically to increase awareness regarding digital gold. However, the Securities and Exchange Board of India has issued a press release dated 08 th November, 2025 providing information to the public regarding investments in gold-related financial products. The press release is placed at Annexure-II .

*****

## Annexure-I

State-wise  details  of  consumer  grievances  related  to  digital  gold  received  on  the  National Consumer Helpline during 2020 to 2025 (till November 2025)

| S.No.   | State/UT         |   2020 |   2021 |   2022 |   2023 |   2024 |   2025 (Till Nov'25) |   Grand Total |
|---------|------------------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|----------------------|---------------|
| 1       | Delhi            |      5 |      6 |      6 |      7 |      4 |                   10 |            38 |
| 2       | West Bengal      |      0 |      4 |      6 |      8 |     13 |                    6 |            37 |
| 3       | Uttar Pradesh    |      1 |      2 |      3 |     10 |      8 |                   13 |            37 |
| 4       | Maharashtra      |      1 |      3 |     13 |      3 |      7 |                    8 |            35 |
| 5       | Telangana        |      4 |      2 |      5 |      5 |      3 |                   11 |            30 |
| 6       | Karnataka        |      0 |      3 |      9 |      2 |      5 |                    9 |            28 |
| 7       | Haryana          |      1 |      5 |      2 |      5 |      1 |                    6 |            20 |
| 8       | Gujarat          |      0 |      3 |      7 |      3 |      2 |                    2 |            17 |
| 9       | Andhra Pradesh   |      2 |      1 |      2 |      1 |      4 |                    7 |            17 |
| 10      | Kerala           |      0 |      3 |      1 |      2 |      5 |                    6 |            17 |
| 11      | Madhya Pradesh   |      0 |      1 |      6 |      3 |      0 |                    6 |            16 |
| 12      | Punjab           |      0 |      0 |      3 |      4 |      1 |                    5 |            13 |
| 13      | Tamil Nadu       |      1 |      1 |      1 |      0 |      2 |                    7 |            12 |
| 14      | Rajasthan        |      0 |      2 |      1 |      1 |      3 |                    5 |            12 |
| 15      | Bihar            |      0 |      4 |      3 |      3 |      0 |                    0 |            10 |
| 16      | Assam            |      1 |      0 |      0 |      4 |      3 |                    2 |            10 |
| 17      | Odisha           |      0 |      0 |      0 |      0 |      3 |                    3 |             6 |
| 18      | Jammu &Kashmir   |      0 |      1 |      0 |      0 |      4 |                    0 |             5 |
| 19      | Uttarakhand      |      0 |      1 |      0 |      0 |      0 |                    2 |             3 |
| 20      | Jharkhand        |      0 |      0 |      1 |      0 |      0 |                    2 |             3 |
| 21      | Himachal Pradesh |      0 |      0 |      2 |      0 |      0 |                    0 |             2 |
| 22      | Chandigarh       |      1 |      0 |      0 |      0 |      0 |                    0 |             1 |
| 23      | Chhattisgarh     |      0 |      0 |      0 |      0 |      0 |                    1 |             1 |
| 24      | Goa              |      0 |      0 |      0 |      0 |      0 |                    1 |             1 |
|         | Grand Total      |     17 |     42 |     71 |     61 |     68 |                  112 |           371 |

Securities and Exchange Board of India

SE3I securites and Exchange Board of india

PRESS RELEASE

## Annexure-II

<!-- image -->

PR No.70/2025

SEBI has enabled investments in gold and gold related instruments through various SEBI regulated gold products. These are exchange traded commodity derivative contracts, Gold Exchange  Traded  Funds  (ETFs)  offered  by  Mutual  Funds  and  Electronic  Gold  Receipts (EGRs) tradeable on stock exchanges. Investments in these SEBI regulated gold products can  be  made through  SEBI  registered  intermediaries  and  are  governed  by  the  regulatory framework prescribed by SEBI.

It has come to the notice of SEBI that some digital/online platforms are offering investors to invest  in  'Digital  Gold/E-Gold  Products'.  Digital Gold  is  being  marked  as  an  alternative for investment in physical gold.

In this context, it is informed that such digital gold products are different from SEBI regulated gold products as they are neither notified as securities nor regulated as commodity derivatives. They  operate  entirely  outside  the  purview  of  SEBI.  Such  digital  gold  products  may  entail significant risks for investors and may expose investors to counterparty and operational risks.

Investors / participants are made aware that none of the investor protection mechanisms under securities  market  purview  shall  be  available  for  investments  in  such  Digital  Gold/  E-Gold products.

Mumbai November 08, 2025