India Gold Demand Expected to be Led by Institutional and Market Infrastructure Investment: World Gold Council CEO at Rising Bharat Summit

India's Gold Demand Set to Shift Towards Institutional Investors

World Gold Council CEO David Tait predicts that India's next phase of gold demand will be driven increasingly by institutional investors and financial-market infrastructure, rather than households alone. This shift was highlighted at the Rising Bharat Summit on Friday.

The current gold rally is underpinned by structural forces rather than short-term price momentum, according to Tait. He cited six to seven main reasons why gold will continue to rise, including geopolitics, interest rates, central bank buying, and a growing fear of runaway global debt. Tait pointed to episodes of stress in US bond markets following policy shocks as evidence that concerns around debt sustainability are shaping investor behavior.

India's Future Gold Demand

Read also: Treasury Yields Experience Largest Increase in Two Weeks Following Release of Labor Market Data

Tait expects India's future gold demand to be shaped by pension funds, insurance companies, and other large pools of institutional capital embedding gold within portfolios. Younger investors are also gravitating towards financial forms of gold ownership, particularly gold-backed exchange-traded funds, alongside traditional jewelry. Central bank buying remains a critical support for the market, with most developing-economy central banks continuing to accumulate gold as a portfolio diversifier and protection against currency volatility and geopolitical risk.

Regulatory Recognition and Digital Gold

The World Gold Council has focused on reducing the frictions that historically limited gold's role in mainstream portfolios. Tait noted that institutional acceptance of gold is still at an early stage in large markets such as India, China, and Japan. Regulatory recognition is a potential inflection point for gold's role in the financial system, with its exclusion from high-quality liquid asset classification constraining institutional usage. Tait outlined plans for a new digital allocated gold market that would allow fractional legal ownership of physical gold and improve its usability as collateral.

For Indian investors, Tait said modern investment routes are likely to coexist with traditional demand rather than replace it. Gold-backed ETFs currently offer the most practical pathway within the country's regulatory framework.

Read also: US-Iran Tensions Spark Uptick in Oil Prices Amid Global Market Decline