Coimbatore, June 6 -- The National Stock Exchange's (NSE) newly launched Electronic Gold Receipts (EGR) platform is not linked to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent appeal urging citizens to postpone gold purchases for a year, as the initiative had been in the works for several months before the current geopolitical developments, NSE Chief Business Development Officer Sriram Krishnan said.

Speaking to ANI, Krishnan said the EGR platform, launched on May 4, was conceived as a long-term mechanism to reduce India's dependence on gold imports and create a unified domestic gold market.

Addressing speculation that the launch coincided with the Prime Minister's call to reduce gold consumption amid external pressures, Krishnan said, "This wa...