SEBI Grade A Current Affairs — 22 September 2026

Digital gold purchases surged 110% year-on-year ahead of India's festive season, as buyers increasingly shifted from physical gold to app-based platforms. Despite this rapid growth, SEBI has repeatedly cautioned that digital gold is not regulated under any financial regulatory framework in India — not by SEBI, RBI, or IRDAI. Buyers hold no statutory investor protection. The product is sold through fintech apps as fractional ownership of physically stored gold, but no regulator formally oversees these platforms.

Digital gold allows buyers to purchase fractional quantities of gold online, typically starting from ₹1, with the physical gold held in insured vaults by entities like MMTC-PAMP, SafeGold, or Augmont. The purchase happens through third-party apps — often payment wallets or stockbrokers — who act as distribution partners.

The critical regulatory gap: digital gold does not fall under SEBI's securities regulation (it is not a security or mutual fund), it is not a bank deposit (so RBI rules don't apply), and it is not an insurance product. This places it in a regulatory vacuum.

SEBI first flagged this concern in 2021, directing its registered intermediaries (brokers, mutual fund distributors) to stop selling digital gold by September 2021. However, the underlying digital gold platforms themselves are not SEBI-regulated entities, so SEBI's jurisdiction is limited to its own intermediaries, not the product.

For exam purposes, understand the distinction between regulated gold investment instruments — Sovereign Gold Bonds (RBI-regulated, issued by GoI), Gold ETFs (SEBI-regulated, traded on exchanges), and Gold Mutual Funds (SEBI-regulated) — versus unregulated digital gold sold through apps. The 110% YoY surge despite warnings illustrates the gap between regulatory intent and market behaviour, a classic fintech regulatory arbitrage scenario that examiners test through statement-based MCQs.

NSDL has appointed Ankit Sharma as Executive Director heading its regulatory and compliance vertical. The appointment required approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India, as well as from NSDL's Nomination and Remuneration Committee. NSDL, or National Securities Depository Limited, is India's first and largest depository, holding securities in electronic form for millions of investors. Senior appointments at NSDL require SEBI's explicit sign-off, reflecting the regulator's oversight role over market infrastructure institutions.

NSDL — the National Securities Depository Limited — was established in 1996 under the Depositories Act, 1996, making it India's first depository. It holds securities such as shares, bonds, and mutual fund units in dematerialised (electronic) form on behalf of investors, eliminating the risks associated with physical share certificates. Its counterpart is CDSL (Central Depository Services Limited), established in 1999.

NSDL is classified as a Market Infrastructure Institution (MII) under SEBI's regulatory framework, along with stock exchanges and clearing corporations. Because MIIs are systemically critical — a failure can cascade across the entire securities market — SEBI exercises direct oversight over their governance, including senior appointments. This is why Ankit Sharma's appointment as Executive Director required SEBI's prior approval, a procedural safeguard that ensures regulatorily compliant leadership at the top of such institutions.

The regulatory and compliance vertical at a depository like NSDL is specifically responsible for ensuring adherence to SEBI regulations, managing inspections, and interfacing with the regulator on policy matters. Appointing a dedicated Executive Director for this function signals the growing regulatory complexity that MIIs face.

For exam purposes, the key static concepts here are: NSDL's founding year (1996), its status as India's first depository, the Depositories Act under which it operates, SEBI's role as the apex regulator for capital markets, and the MII classification that triggers mandatory regulatory approval for key appointments.