India International Bullion Exchange (IIBX)

Why in news?

• The Prime Minister launched the India International Bullion Exchange (IIBX) at GIFT city in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

About India International Bullion Exchange (IIBX):

• It is India’s first bullion exchange based at Gujarat’s GIFT City (Gujarat International Finance Tec-City).
  • Bullion refers to physical gold and silver of high purity that is often kept in the form of bars, ingots, or coins.
  • It can sometimes be considered legal tender and is often held as reserves by central banks or held by institutional investors.

Advantages of Bullion exchange in India:

• The exchange will be an additional platform for gold imports into the country in addition to banks and nominated agencies.
• The platform will help with efficient price discovery and provide additional transparency in transactions.
• It will also give an option to trade gold and silver in the US dollar.
• Since gift city is a free trade zone, no duty will be paid.

Add on:

• India is a major player in the global gold market but largely a price taker.
• The exchange may help increase India’s role in price discovery in the global market and help India become a major trading hub in Asia.

PRACTICE QUESTION

India's first international bullion exchange, ‘India International Bullion Exchange (IIBX)’, is located in which of the following Indian state?

(a) Karnataka

(b) Tamil Nadu

(c) Maharashtra

(d) Gujarat

Answer