National News
India Gold Conference 2026: India Gold Vision: Recycle, Reform & Re-Innovate
The future of India’s gold market, the conference made clear, will depend not merely on how much gold India owns, but on how efficiently that gold can be recycled, monetised and put to productive use.
The India Gold Conference (IGC) 2026, held in Goa under the theme “India Gold Vision: Recycle, Reform & Re-Innovate,” brought together policymakers, regulators, bullion banks, refiners, exchanges and jewellery-industry leaders to examine how India can build a more efficient, transparent and technology-driven gold ecosystem.
The inaugural session was graced by presence of Guest of Honour Richa Goel Agarwal, Chief General Manager, SEBI along with Sachin Jain, Regional CEO – India, World Gold Council , Prithviraj Kothari, National President, IBJA, Rajesh Rokde, Jignesh Shah, Mentor and Coach, IGM, Chairman-GJC, Samit Guha, MD- & CEO, MMTC-PAMP, Shivanshu Mehta, Head- Bullion and Chief Business Officer- MCX. Representing the organizer Eventell Global Advisory was Srivatsava Ganapathy, Director & CEO.
The panel sessions at India Gold Conference 2026 covered the key structural and strategic priorities shaping India’s gold market. Some of the sessions were: Making GMS Work, Strengthening Trade with Dubai Bullion Market, Exchange-based Spot Trading in Bullion, Meeting All Our Requirements for Jewellery Demand from Buy-Back of Old Gold Jewellery, Import Substitution Opportunities in Gold Investment Demand, and AI Use Cases in the Bullion Business.
A key focus was the future of the Gold Monetisation Scheme (GMS) and its potential to mobilise India’s large above-ground gold holdings, reduce dependence on imports and help contain the current account deficit (CAD).
Making GMS Work
An expert panel agreed that the GMS needs greater participation from the jewellery trade if it is to achieve meaningful scale. The discussion highlighted the role of RBI, SEBI and industry bodies in shaping the modified GMS and stressed the need to make gold deposits more liquid, transferable and commercially useful.
Among the proposals discussed was the possibility of tokenising GMS holdings, allowing investors greater liquidity and transferability. Converting GMS holdings into Electronic Gold Receipts (EGRs) could also enable gold to be used as collateral for borrowing.
However, taxation remains a significant concern for deposit-taking institutions, with the panel noting that uncertainty around tax treatment continues to act as a deterrent to wider participation.
Technology at the Core
The conference placed strong emphasis on technology as an enabler of gold-market reform. In his keynote, Jignesh Shah, Mentor & Coach, India Gold Metaverse, argued that traceability, transparency and trust must be integrated through technology.
He highlighted blockchain, asset fractionalisation and digital platforms as potential tools to broaden retail participation and create new avenues for gold investment, while also envisioning India as a potential leader in gold-backed financial ecosystems.
GoldSense™ Launched
IGM also unveiled GoldSense™, an AI-powered enterprise solution designed for non-destructive gold verification. The portable karatometer is designed to assess gold to depths of up to 7 mm, using AI-driven analysis without damaging the asset or relying on harmful X-ray radiation.
Priced at Rs 5 lakh per unit, the technology is positioned as a tool for more standardised, connected and data-driven gold evaluation.
Building a Spot Gold Market
Another major discussion centred on exchange-based spot trading in bullion. Industry leaders stressed that a liquid spot market is essential to modernise India’s bullion ecosystem, strengthen price discovery and support the country’s growing digital-gold market.
The panel also called for policy changes, particularly addressing double GST taxation and GST offset mechanisms. Collaboration between IBJA and IGM was cited as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen spot-price discovery.
Recycling Gold to Meet Demand
The conference also examined the potential of old-gold buybacks to meet a greater share of India’s jewellery demand without relying entirely on fresh imports. Gold recycling was positioned as a critical component of India’s long-term strategy to improve supply security and reduce import dependence.
Sessions additionally explored gold leasing, import substitution in investment demand, electronic gold receipts, Dubai bullion-market linkages and AI applications in bullion businesses.
The Bigger Picture
The discussions at IGC 2026 underscored a broader shift in India’s gold policy—from simply managing imports towards building a formal, liquid, technology-enabled and recyclable gold ecosystem.
For the GMS to fulfil its original promise, however, the message from the conference was clear: participation must extend beyond banks to jewellers and consumers, while liquidity, taxation, transferability and technology must be addressed together.
If these structural barriers are resolved, monetising India’s existing gold stock could become an important source of domestic supply, reduce reliance on imports and contribute to a more efficient gold market—and potentially help moderate the country’s CAD.
The future of India’s gold market, the conference made clear, will depend not merely on how much gold India owns, but on how efficiently that gold can be recycled, monetised and put to productive use.
National News
Senco Gold & Diamonds Partners With Olocker to Give Customers Free Jewellery Insurance, Letting Precious Memories Be Worn, Not Hidden Away
A Customer-First Initiative Designed to Help People Wear Their Precious Memories with Confidence.
Senco Gold & Diamonds, one of India’s most trusted jewellery houses, has partnered with Olocker, India’s first dedicated jewellery insurance platform, to offer free jewellery insurance to its customers, protecting purchases against risks such as snatching, robbery, and housebreaking.
On the surface, it’s a simple value-add: buy jewellery from Senco, get it insured, at no extra cost. But the thinking behind it is more personal — the freedom to actually live with the things you love.
There is a quiet ritual that plays out in homes across India every wedding season, every anniversary. A piece of jewellery is bought with love, worn once or twice with pride — and then, almost apologetically, tucked away in a bank locker for “safekeeping.” The very thing meant to be cherished ends up spending most of its life in the dark.
A Locker Is No Place for a Memory
Ask any family that owns fine jewellery, and you’ll hear the same quiet anxiety: the fear of stepping out wearing something precious, the fear of a break-in while the house is empty. For many, the solution has always been the same — lock it away, take it out only for weddings and festivals, and let it sit untouched the rest of the year.
It’s a practical response to a real risk, but it also means jewellery bought to mark a marriage or a milestone ends up being seen far less than it deserves.
This is the exact problem Senco Gold & Diamonds’ Managing Director, Suvankar Sen,
has spoken about wanting to solve. Known for a customer-first philosophy that goes beyond transactions, Sen has often said jewellery should be something people live with, not something they merely own. “Jewellery is never just metal and stone,” Sen said, explaining the thinking behind the Olocker partnership. “It’s a wedding day, a mother’s blessing, a promise kept. When customers can’t step out wearing it, or can’t leave home without worrying about a break-in, something is broken in that experience. We wanted to fix that.”
That sentiment is the quiet engine behind this initiative. Rather than simply selling jewellery and stepping back, Senco has chosen to walk the extra mile — ensuring that once a customer takes a piece home, they can wear it freely and pass it down through generations, without the constant undercurrent of worry.
What the Partnership Actually Offers
Through this collaboration, Senco customers receive free jewellery insurance via Olocker on qualifying purchases, protecting against snatching, robbery, and housebreaking.
Olocker, India’s first digital platform dedicated to jewellery insurance and asset tracking, brings the technical and insurance backbone — while Senco brings its decades of trust, built since 1938, to make sure customers actually use it.
For a family that has just bought a piece for a wedding, this means peace of mind — wearing that necklace to a dinner without the nagging thought of “what if someone snatches it,” or “what if someone breaks in while we’re away.”
A Partnership Built on Shared Intent
The excitement isn’t one-sided. At Olocker, the partnership is seen as validation of the idea the platform was built on — that jewellery insurance should be a natural, everyday companion to ownership, not a niche afterthought.
“This is genuinely one of the most exciting collaborations we’ve been part of,” said Milind Shethia, Founder & Chief Marketing Officer at Olocker. “Our mission has been to help people wear their jewellery instead of locking it away, and partnering with a name as trusted as Senco brings that mission to millions of customers at once.
What’s heartening is Mr. Sen’s own approach — he didn’t look at it as a marketing tie-up, but as giving something back to people who’ve trusted Senco for generations. That kind of intent is rare, and it’s exactly the spirit we built Olocker around.”
That mutual sense of purpose is what gives this partnership its quiet credibility. It isn’t a scheme or a promotional hook, but two organisations agreeing on a simple, shared belief: jewellery should be lived in, not locked up.
A Bigger Idea About Ownership
There is a broader philosophy at play, one Suvankar Sen has championed throughout his tenure at Senco — that jewellery is an emotional asset as much as a financial one, and customers shouldn’t have to choose between enjoying it and protecting it.
This partnership feels less like a marketing initiative and more like a promise kept, reflecting a leadership style that measures success in something harder to quantify — how cared for a customer feels long after leaving the showroom.
As jewellery increasingly doubles as adornment and investment, initiatives like this one may well set a new benchmark for customer care in the industry.
Senco, through its partnership with Olocker, isn’t just insuring jewellery against snatching or a break-in — it’s giving people back the freedom to wear their memories, out loud, without fear.
The Role Of Hallmarking and Transparency In Strengthening Consumer Confidence
Senco Gold & Diamonds Partners With Olocker to Give Customers Free Jewellery Insurance, Letting Precious Memories Be Worn, Not Hidden Away
Belgian Prime Minister H.E. Bart De Wever Makes Historic First Visit To Bharat Diamond Bourse
VBJ Unveils ‘The Bangle Beauties’ – A Grand Celebration Of 10,000+ Bangle Designs
The Role Of Hallmarking and Transparency In Strengthening Consumer Confidence
Senco Gold & Diamonds Partners With Olocker to Give Customers Free Jewellery Insurance, Letting Precious Memories Be Worn, Not Hidden Away
-
BrandBuzz1 day agoVBJ Unveils ‘The Bangle Beauties’ – A Grand Celebration Of 10,000+ Bangle Designs
-
JB Insights14 hours agoThe Role Of Hallmarking and Transparency In Strengthening Consumer Confidence
-
National News1 day agoSenco Gold & Diamonds Partners With Olocker to Give Customers Free Jewellery Insurance, Letting Precious Memories Be Worn, Not Hidden Away
-
National News2 days agoDeepa Jewellers IPO Subscribed 43x
JewelBuzz is Asia’s First Digital Jewellery Media & India’s No.1 B2B Jewellery Magazine, published by AM Media House. Since 2016, we’ve been the trusted source for jewellery news, market trends, trade insights, exhibitions, podcasts, and brand stories, connecting jewellers, retailers, and industry professionals worldwide.