India INX, officially known as India International Exchange (IFSC) Limited, is India’s first international stock exchange. It was established in January 2017 at the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in GIFT City, Gujarat, as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). Inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the exchange is designed to serve as a global trading hub offering world-class infrastructure, regulatory efficiency, and competitive costs.
Vision & Objective
India INX aims to become a leading international financial marketplace by combining cutting-edge technology with product innovation. Its primary focus is to provide global investors with seamless access to diverse asset classes in a highly secure, tax-efficient, and technologically advanced trading environment.
Trading & Technology Highlights
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Extended Trading Hours: India INX operates 22 hours a day, six days a week, enabling investors from different time zones to participate with ease.
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Ultra-Fast Execution: With a response time of just 4 microseconds, India INX is one of the fastest trading platforms in the world.
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Cost Efficiency: By adopting open-source technology, the exchange has significantly reduced its operational costs, making trading more affordable for participants.
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Robust Infrastructure: Built on a tier-III equivalent data center with colocation facilities, India INX uses its proprietary Bolt+ on Web trading platform to provide transparent, reliable, and low-latency execution.
Product Portfolio
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Derivatives: India INX offers trading in index derivatives such as India 50 and BSE Sensex in USD, along with single stock futures and options covering more than 175 underlying instruments.
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Commodities: The exchange lists contracts in gold, silver, aluminium, copper, nickel, zinc, lead, and crude oil, including innovative products like Gold Quanto and Silver Quanto futures.
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Currency Derivatives: Products include USD-INR, EUR-USD, GBP-USD, and other currency pairs, with both monthly and weekly contracts available to meet global investor demand.
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Debt Securities: Through its Global Securities Market platform, India INX provides a platform for the issuance and listing of Masala bonds, green bonds, and foreign currency-denominated bonds, making it a strong competitor to global debt listing hubs.
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Indices: Custom indices such as India INX 50, Quality 30, Bankex, Midcap, IT, Pharma, Energy, Infrastructure, and Small Cap are available for benchmarking and derivatives trading.
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USD-Denominated Sensex Derivatives: Introduced to attract wider international participation and enhance market integration.
Market Growth & Milestones
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India INX quickly gained momentum after its launch in 2017, crossing significant trading volume milestones within just a few years.
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The exchange has recorded peak daily turnovers exceeding USD 30 billion and continues to expand its average daily turnover consistently.
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Its Global Securities Market has become a preferred platform for international debt listings, hosting billions of dollars worth of securities, including green and sustainable bonds.
Competitive Advantages
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Tax Benefits: Investors enjoy exemptions from securities transaction tax, stamp duty, GST, dividend distribution tax, and capital gains tax. Additional benefits include graded income tax holidays and subsidies on infrastructure investments.
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Regulatory Support: Established under India’s first IFSC, the exchange operates in a well-regulated environment with globally comparable standards.
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Global Connectivity: India INX serves as a gateway for global investors to access Indian financial markets while enabling Indian companies to raise capital in international currencies.
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Cost Competitiveness: Its innovative use of technology ensures some of the lowest transaction costs among global exchanges.
Summary
India International Exchange (India INX) is a landmark initiative that puts India on the global financial map. By combining speed, efficiency, extended trading hours, and cost competitiveness, it offers global investors access to a diverse range of asset classes—from derivatives and commodities to currencies and debt securities. With its foundation in GIFT City and strong backing from the BSE, India INX is positioned as a world-class international exchange for the future of global trading.
