Mumbai: The World Gold Council (WGC) is working with the Indian government on plans to create a local physical spot-gold exchange that may start up as soon as next year. P.R. Somasundaram, managing director for the WGC in India said, “We are working on a gold exchange for India. The finance ministry has formed a gold committee. And the committee has taken this as one of the things to do.”

The plans still face many hurdles including that the state-level rather than central government has responsibility for gold-related matters in India, he said. Increased infrastructure such as gold vaults and reliable receipts for metal are also needed. The new exchange would bring more order and structure to the market, “which is what the government would love,” Somasundaram said. “It is not going to be a gold exchange like you see here, with bullion banks backing liquidity, it’s going to be very different.”

The price of gold is rising for a second year, spurring interest from investors, amid growing demand from China and a weaker U.S. Dollar.