Holdings in silver exchange-traded products (ETPs) in India have registered a 200 per cent compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) since 2022, when they were launched, a survey by the New York-based Silver Institute has said.
Since 2022, the holdings have increased by over 18 times as Indian investors have broadened their investment base with the participation of those in the equities market.
The survey said initially, the ETP market struggled to gain traction. However, over the past 18 months, the situation has changed significantly with the holdings exceeding 58 million ounces (1,800 tonnes), up 51 per cent since 2024-end.
Reshaping landscape
“The launch of silver ETPs in India in 2022 has significantly reshaped the investment landscape. In roughly three years, their holdings have surged from just 2.1 million ounces (65 tonnes) in Q1 2022 to over 38 million ounces (1,183 tonnes) by Q4 2024, reflecting a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 200 per cent,” the institute said in its new market survey carried out by Metal Focus.
Inflows into silver ETPs were 25.1 million ounces (782 tonnes) in 2024, equivalent to 44 per cent of the country’s physical investment for that year. “To provide some perspective, gold ETPs have struggled to attract similar levels of investor interest in India,” it said.
The survey stated that, despite a recent uptick in holdings, gold ETPs have accumulated just over 2 million ounces (64 tonnes) since their introduction in 2007.
In 2024, investments in gold ETPs were 0.5 million ounces (15 tonnes), just 6 per cent of India’s retail investment of 7.7 million ounces (239 tonnes) in 2023.
Modest selling
The survey said India has become the world’s second-largest physical investment market for silver, and, on occasions, it has eclipsed the US to hold the number one spot. Besides these two nations, Germany and Australia are the other markets that are now crucial for the white precious metal.
“The country has a long-standing tradition of owning physical silver, typically in bar form. To put this into context, between 2010-24, cumulative Indian bar and coin demand stood at 840 million ounces (26,100 tonnes). In a similar fashion to the US, these holdings have generally been quite sticky, reflecting Indian investors’ typically bullish price expectations,” the survey said.
However, there have been brief periods when the market has seen heavy liquidations, such as in 2020 when the silver price in Indian rupees surged. However, the selling was short-lived.
Currently, with silver prices soaring to record highs in the Indian rupee and breaking the psychological mark of ₹1 lakh per kg, selling in the white precious metal has been modest, the institute said.
Current prices
“This mostly reflects how deeply held positive price expectations are in India, with many investors looking for the international price to revisit its record high in dollar terms,” it said.
On Friday, silver, which has been volatile since topping $54 an ounce on October 17 this year, ended at $49.974 an ounce. In the Mumbai spot market, silver ended at ₹1,51,129 per kg. On MCX, silver futures to be delivered in December ended at ₹1,54,052 a kg. The white precious metal has gained 73 per cent this year on concerns over geopolitics, global economy and the Sino-US tariff war.
The Silver Institute said that though silver purchases declined sharply in 2023, they remained historically high in absolute terms. “Furthermore, 2024 saw a modest recovery, helped by the surprise bullion duty cut in July,” it said.
Apart from the 2022 spike in demand, the 2024 total purchase was the highest since 2015. The survey forecast a slight drop as further price gains lead to both profit-taking and momentum buying, though the full-year total will be historically high.
Published on November 23, 2025