SEBI Group Reviews Non-Agri Derivatives

Markets regulator SEBI is planning to constitute a working group to review the non-agricultural commodity derivatives segment, its chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey said on Saturday, December 20, 2025. He added that the working group will be notified shortly.

Speaking at the 11th International Convention of the Commodity and Capital Participants Association of India (CPAI), Pandey said SEBI is also in discussions with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) to allow banks and insurance companies to participate in the commodity derivatives market.

According to him, higher institutional participation will improve liquidity and make the market more attractive for hedging and risk management.SEBI has already set up expert groups to suggest measures to deepen the agriculture and commodity derivatives ecosystem. These groups are reviewing key aspects such as margin norms, position limits, delivery processes, and settlement mechanisms, while ensuring market integrity is maintained.

Pandey said the recommendations from these groups will help SEBI take further developmental measures for the market. He also highlighted the need to address Goods and Services Tax (GST) challenges faced by market participants, especially those taking physical delivery of commodities through exchanges. SEBI will continue to engage with the government and the GST Council to resolve these issues, which are affecting both agricultural and non-agricultural commodities, including gold.

On the gold market, Pandey noted that India already offers several regulated products such as gold derivatives, gold ETFs, and electronic gold receipts (EGRs). While EGRs were introduced to promote transparent gold trading and make India a global price discovery hub, they have not gained expected traction so far, mainly due to GST-related concerns.He urged market participants to educate investors and encourage them to trade only in regulated gold products to ensure investor protection.