Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd Management Discussions

Table 4: Average Daily Volume of commodity derivatives on MCX (no. of lots)

PRODUCT-WISE PERFORMANCE

Product-wise performance of your Company during the year 2025-26 is given in Annexure I.

FINANCIAL POSITION AND RESULT OF OPERATIONS

Revenue:

The Company derives its revenues from transaction fees, admission fees, annual subscription fees, terminal charges, connectivity income, interest income, gains on sale of investments and other miscellaneous income.

During FY 2025-26, the Companys total income increased to Rs.2,281.76 crores from Rs.1,107.37 crores in FY 2024-25 registering an increase of 106% with a net profit margin of 45%. The operating expenses increased to Rs.832.13 crores from Rs.491.54 crores in FY 2024-25, registering an increase of only 69% in comparison to increase in revenue.

The profit before tax for FY 2025-26 has substantially increased to Rs.1,374.45 crores vis-a-vis Rs.554.05 crores in the last financial year, registering an increase of 148%. During FY 2025-26, the profit after tax has also increased by 148% to Rs.1,029.04 crores as against Rs.414.78 crores in FY 2024-25.

The Company operates in Commodity Derivatives market segment business. Transaction fees comprise a significant portion (approximately 97%) of the Exchanges revenue from operations. The revenue from transaction fees during FY 2025-26 was Rs.2,090.96 crores as against Rs.961.80 crores in the previous year. The investment income was Rs.116.99 crores in FY 2025-26 (Previous year - Rs.82.93 crores) including gain / (loss) on fair valuation of mutual funds (Table 5).

Table 5: MCXs Income

(Rs. in crores)

Operating revenue:

The Companys operating revenue stood at Rs.2,153.67 crores for FY 2025-26 as against Rs.1,011.58 crores for previous year. Increase in operating revenue by Rs.1,142.09 crores is mainly due to increase in revenue from transaction fees by Rs.1,129.16 crores (Increase by 117%).

Expenses:

The Companys expenditure consists of employee benefit expenses, C&S charges and product license fees, depreciation / amortization charges, information technology and related expenses, contribution to statutory funds & regulatory fees and other expenses (Table 6).

Table 6: MCXs expenditure

(Rs. in crores)

Operating costs:

Operating costs of the Company increased by Rs.340.59 crores (increase by 69%) from Rs.491.54 crores in FY 2024-25 to Rs.832.13 crores in FY 2025-26.

Provision for taxation:

The Companys provision for tax for FY 2025-26 was Rs.345.41 crores (Previous Year Rs.139.27 crores).

Earnings per share (EPS):

Earnings per share stood at Rs.40.36 per equity share (of Rs.2/- each) for FY 2025-26 as against Rs.16.27 per equity share (of Rs.2/- each) for previous year.

Profit analysis:

The net profit margin stood at 45% in FY 2025-26 (Previous Year: 37%).

Financial performance and operational performance parameters:

The transaction fees has substantially increased by 117% to Rs.2,090.96 crores in FY 2025-26 from Rs.961.80 crores in FY 2024-25.

Shareholders. funds:

Share capital:

As on March 31, 2026, the Companys share capital stood at Rs.50,99,83,690 , i.e. 25,49,91,845 share of Rs. 2 each. (Previous Year: Rs. 50,99,83,690 i.e. 5,09,98,369 equity of Rs. 10 each).

Other equity:

The Companys other equity increased to Rs.2,765.24 crores as on March 31, 2026 from Rs.1,876.50 crores as on March 31, 2025. The net worth of the Company as at March 31, 2026 stood at Rs.2,816.24 crores as compared to Rs.1,927.50 crores as at March 31, 2025.

Secured loans:

The Company had no secured loans in its books as on March 31, 2026, as well as on March 31,2025.

Fixed assets:

The Companys fixed assets (including capital work in progress, right of use asset, intangible assets and intangible assets under development) stood at Rs.438.82 crores as on March 31,2026, as against Rs.423.53 crores as on March 31,2025.

Investments:

As on March 31,2026, the Companys investments (non-current and current) stood at Rs.2,985.45 crores as against Rs.1,628.77 crores as on March 31,2025.

Current assets and current liabilities:

The current assets consisting of current investments, trade receivables, cash and cash equivalent, bank balances and other current assets is Rs.1,372.73 crores as on March 31, 2026, as compared to Rs.663.34 crores as on March 31,2025.

The current liabilities consisting of trade creditors, security deposits and others stood at Rs.801.93 crores as on March 31, 2026, as against Rs.284.48 crores as on March 31,2025.

Key Financial Indicators: For Standalone:

For Consolidated:

INTERNAL CONTROL SYSTEMS AND THEIR ADEQUACY

The Board has put in place various measures to ensure that the internal control mechanisms are adequate and effective. The Exchange has also put in place state-of-the-art technology and has automated most of the key areas of operations and processes, to minimize human intervention.

The design, implementation and maintenance of adequate internal financial controls are such that they operate effectively and ensure accuracy and completeness of the accounting records. Their presentation gives a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Company and they are free from material misstatements, whether due to error or fraud.

The operational processes are comprehensively documented coupled with well-defined Standard Operating Procedures. The same includes the financial controls in the form of maker and checker.

The Board has approved a scheme of financial sub-delegation to officials of your Company for incurring expenses. The Board, with a view to ensure transparency, has also formulated various policies and has put in place appropriate internal controls for procurement of services, materials, fixed assets, monitoring income streams, investments and financial accounting.

Internal control measures include adherence to systemic controls, information security controls, as well as role based/ need based access controls. Further, the existing systems and controls are periodically reviewed for change management in the situations of introduction of new processes / change in processes, change in the systems, change in personnel handling the activities and other related activities.

The Audit Committee of the Company, comprising of majority Public Interest Directors, reviews and recommends the unaudited quarterly financial statements and the annual audited financial statements of your Company to the Board for approval.

Your Company has appointed a firm of Chartered Accountants to conduct independent financial and operational internal audit (pre and concurrent) in accordance with the scope as defined by the Audit Committee. The reports from the Internal Auditors are reviewed by the Audit Committee on periodic basis.

Pre-audit by the independent internal audit firm is conducted for various activities including payments made by the Company.

Further, all related party transactions are placed before the Audit Committee and are approved / ratified by it after deliberations. Prior omnibus approval of the Audit Committee is obtained on annual basis for related party transactions which the Company foresees to be in the ordinary course of business and on an arms length basis.

COMPETITIVE STRENGTHS

The attributes of your Company that have made it the market leader and sustain its unique position are described in the following paragraphs.

Strong Brand Equity

MCX continues to be the leading exchange in Indias commodity derivatives markets, capturing approximately 99.07% of the market share in commodity Futures turnover and nearly 98.83% in commodity Options turnover (notional) during the year FY 2025-26. The Exchange has built strong brand equity by providing a reliable trading platform for commodity derivatives, characterized by transparent price discovery and robust risk management processes.

High Global Standing

MCX retained its position, for the second year in a row, as worlds largest Commodity Options Exchange by the number of contracts traded during the year, as per data released by the Futures Industry Association (FIA). Considering overall Commodity Futures and Options volumes, MCX was worlds fourth largest commodity Exchange, improving its position from being the sixth largest in 2024. FIAs annual data also reveals that during 2025, MCX was the venue for highest number of Options contracts traded in Gold, Crude Oil and Natural Gas, and second highest in Silver, globally. Our commitment to operational excellence remains a cornerstone of our strategic growth, driving continuous improvement and efficiency across all facets of our organization.

Strong connect with commodities ecosystems

MCX plays a crucial role in the broader commodity ecosystem in India, fostering its growth and development. In addition to the Members and their clients who engage with the Exchange for risk management and trading, various other stakeholders are also connected to MCX and MCXCCL, its clearing arm. These include warehouse owners, service providers, assayers, logistics companies, collateral management firms, and financial institutions. The prices discovered on the MCX platform are recognized as credible reference prices by numerous stakeholders in the physical markets, influencing their transactions. As a result, the prices established on MCX not only serve as benchmarks for physical market trades but also enhance the overall price discovery process in these markets.

Access to a highly liquid and efficient trading platform

MCX is widely recognized for offering some of the most liquid commodity derivatives products in India, establishing itself as a vital player in the market. High liquidity naturally draws a diverse array of participants, including retail traders, large corporate entities, and reputed financial institutions, extending to Foreign Portfolio Investors wherever permitted. This broad participation and underlying liquidity in contracts are some of Exchanges most significant competitive advantages, underscoring its pivotal role in the Indian commodity trading landscape.

Best Practice of Corporate Governance

As a recognized Exchange and a public listed entity, your Company operates under stringent regulatory oversight. MCX is dedicated to collaborating with all stakeholders to foster a market environment that is orderly, well-informed, and equitable, benefitting all participants. Your Companys operations underscore robust internal governance and regulatory compliance, operating under the principle that sound corporate governance enhances stakeholder confidence and attracts market participants to utilize its trading platform. Apart from ensuring total compliance to existing legal and regulatory guidelines, your Company also follows an effective dispute resolution mechanism to address clients grievances.

Strong domain knowledge

The human resources at your Company possess expertise in commodities, commodity derivatives, and related fields, with knowledge gained over two decades of the Exchanges operations and close interactions with market stakeholders. This expertise has not only contributed to the development of the Exchange and its ecosystem but has also been sought after internationally to assist in creating and developing market institutions in various countries.

Efficient and Robust Risk Management

Multi Commodity Exchange Clearing Corporation Limited (MCXCCL), a wholly owned subsidiary of MCX, provides an efficient platform for clearing and settlement of all the trades executed on MCX. MCXCCL also provides an efficient risk management framework within which the trades are settled, which enables the Exchange to guarantee trade settlements and high integrity of trades even in periods of stress and high volatility in the market. On the other hand, the Exchange has established an enterprise-wide ERM framework to identify, assess, monitor and mitigate risks across the organization and its ecosystem. The risks are being assessed on a continuous basis and redressed accordingly to keep the residual risks under control.

Awards and recognitions

During FY 2025-26, your Company continued to earn accolades and awards through multiple prestigious industry recognitions. The Exchange was honoured with the Prestigious Brands of Asia 2026 award by Herald Global and BARC Asia, reflecting its strong brand equity and market leadership. MCX was also recognised as the Best Indian Bullion Exchange of the Year 2024-25 at the IGC Excellence Awards 2025 and Best Commodity Exchange of the Year award at the India International Bullion Summit 2025, underscoring its significant contribution to Indias bullion market development. In recognition of its growing prominence in precious metals derivatives, MCX was also awarded the Best Exchange for Silver Derivatives for the Year 2025 at the India Silver Conference Excellence Awards.

Strong Technology Framework

MCXs technology infrastructure is the foundation of our business and a key contributor to the Exchanges functioning and development. Our trading platform, mission-critical applications, and supporting infrastructure are hosted in a state of the art Data Centre at our headquarters in Mumbai, and replicated at a Near Online Site nearby, and at a Disaster Recovery site in Gift City - Gandhinagar.

Our electronic platform is supported by our infrastructure and advanced technology, allowing fast trade execution, with uptimes exceeding 99.9% since inception, low latency, anonymity between counterparties, price transparency, prompt and reliable order routing, trade reporting, multicast tick-bytick market data dissemination and market surveillance. The platform is built on state-of-the-art storage-based technology, using one of the fastest storages in the world. This positions MCX as one of the first to deploy such technology, providing a competitive edge.

The Exchanges state-of-art data center is supported by best-inclass network and security infrastructure with high availability at all levels. The Company runs Defence-in-depth strategy to ensure information security at all layers with well-defined Information Security policy and Cyber Security and Cyber Resilience policy & governance structure.

In the fiscal year 2025-26, the exchange handled below mentioned Peak Volumes, seamlessly. During the year the exchange has seen sharp rise in the order messages and system has processed over 200 cores order messages and 2 crore trades in a single day with no operational disruption. This performance reflects optimised message pipelines and advanced monitoring systems capable of managing unprecedented volumes reliably.

MCX has multi layered security architecture that combines preventive, detective, corrective and proactive security controls across people, process, and technology domains. Key security capabilities include safeguarding sensitive information, continuous threat monitoring and timely incident response.

Besides, your Company has also implemented 24x7x365 Cyber Security Operation Centre (C-SOC) for monitoring and raising alerts related to cyber-attacks and other security related incidents round the clock. The Exchange has also implemented Privilege Access controls to monitor and manage the access control of the critical assets and has enhanced security by implementing 2-factor authentication (2FA) for remote users.

MCX has been certified with ISO standards, ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System, ISO 14001:2015 Environment Management System, ISO 22301:2019 Business Continuity Management System and ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Information Security Management System.

OPPORTUNITIES

The emerging landscape in the global and domestic markets provide considerable growth opportunities to your Company, some of which are mentioned below:

Increase in participation

With spread of education and awareness about commodity derivatives, as well as ease of access to the market platform, MCX may see increasing participation on its platform in the times ahead. Further, participation by financial institutions may gain momentum as these institutions and their clients increasingly look forward to gaining exposure to commodity derivatives using the services of Mutual Funds, Portfolio Managers, Alternative Investment Funds and Specialized Investment Funds. While Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) may increase traction in the commodity space in the years ahead, the range of permissible products (currently limited to cash-settled contracts only) may be expanded for Foreign Institutional Investors (FPIs), further deepening the commodity derivatives contracts.

Growth in Retail Participation through Technology Platforms

The rapid growth of digital platforms and innovations in digital investing offers MCX an opportunity to significantly increase retail participation. The Exchange can collaborate with fintech platforms, brokerages, and digital investment apps to simplify access to commodity trading products. User-friendly mobile interfaces, educational tools, multilingual research content, and small-sized contracts can greatly help expand commodity market participation among retail investors and first-time traders across India.

Introduction of new products

In response to market demand and after receiving regulatory approvals, your Company launched several new products during the year FY 2025-26 such as Futures contracts on Electricity, Gold Ten and Cardamom. The Exchange also revamped and re-launched existing products such as Futures on Cotton and Nickel. The new product launches highlight MCXs commitment to innovation, providing market accessibility and meeting the evolving needs of stakeholders across various commodity segments. Regulatory approvals have been obtained for other new products, and the Exchange plans to launch them at appropriate times. Apart from derivatives on new commodities, your Company continues to explore different variants of Futures and Options contracts for existing commodities, with variations in terms of tenure and lot size, and would launch these contracts at appropriate times based on market feedback and regulatory approvals.

Apart from launching derivatives contracts on commodities, your Company shall also explore the possibility of venturing into newer opportunities, such as spot exchange platforms for different commodities; new platforms, products and services within the securities market; monetization of existing and commencement of new services; etc.

Expansion in agricultural Commodities

Indias large agricultural economy presents substantial untapped potential for commodity derivatives. MCX can strengthen its presence in the agri-commodities domain through the introduction of new contracts, farmer outreach initiatives, warehousing integration, and digital delivery mechanisms. Collaborations with Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), agri-tech companies, and government agencies can improve hedging awareness and participation among farmers, processors, exporters and other value chain participants. This would support efficient price discovery and risk management across the agricultural value chain.

Strengthening international collaborations and partnerships

Your Company already has MoUs for collaborations with several international exchanges. These collaborations can be further built upon to develop knowledge or facilitate product developments. The Exchange can also explore the possibility of introducing products linked to international benchmarks and offer own products on international platforms, subject to regulatory approvals, thereby enhancing participation from foreign investors on their own platforms.

POTENTIAL THREATS

Some threats perceived in your Companys operations and on its path towards expansion, are discussed below.

Competition from Domestic and Global Exchanges

Competition in the Indian financial market ecosystem has been increasing over time, with domestic stock exchanges, international exchanges, and alternative trading platforms continuously expanding their product offerings and technology capabilities. Competitors with diversified product portfolios and stronger presence in equities or global commodities may attract market participants through aggressive pricing or innovative contracts. Increased competition could impact MCXs market share, trading volumes, and pricing power over the long term.

Regulatory and Policy Uncertainties

Commodity derivatives markets are highly regulated and remain sensitive to changes in government policies, taxation frameworks, and regulatory guidelines. Any restriction on commodity trading, higher transaction costs, or policy interventions in free markets and movements in commodities could adversely affect market sentiment and trading activity. Frequent regulatory changes may also increase compliance costs and operational complexities for the Exchange and its participants.

Dependence on Commodity Market Volumes

The major portion of MCXs revenues is linked to trading activity in commodity derivatives. Commodity markets are inherently cyclical and influenced by global economic conditions, geopolitical developments, inflation trends, currency volatility, and government interventions. Prolonged periods of low volatility or weak participation in key commodities may adversely impact trading volumes, liquidity, and revenue generation for the Exchange.

Cybersecurity and Technology-Related Threats

As a technology-driven market infrastructure institution, MCX faces growing risks related to cybersecurity threats, system disruptions, data breaches, and operational failures. Increasing digitalization and algorithmic trading activity heighten the need for resilient and secure trading systems. Any major technology outage, cyberattack, or compromise of sensitive market data could disrupt operations, damage market confidence, and expose the Exchange to reputational and financial risks.

Emergence of Alternative Investment Platforms and Asset Classes

The rapid growth of alternative investment products such as crypto currencies, digital assets, and global investment products may divert investor interest away from traditional domestic commodity derivatives markets. Younger investors and retail participants may increasingly prefer newer asset classes offering perceived higher returns or easier accessibility, potentially affecting long-term growth in commodity participation.

Threat from Liquidity Concentration

A substantial share of trading volumes on the Exchange may remain concentrated in a limited number of commodity contracts. Over dependence on a few highly traded contracts exposes MCX to concentration risks, where reduced activity in these segments could disproportionately affect overall turnover and revenues. Failure to develop liquidity across a broader product base may limit sustainable long-term growth.

Global Economic and Geopolitical Volatility

Commodity markets are significantly influenced by global macroeconomic trends, geopolitical tensions, trade restrictions, sanctions, and supply chain disruptions. Events such as economic slowdowns, wars, changes in global monetary policies, or disruptions in commodity-producing regions can create extreme volatility and uncertainty in commodity markets. Such developments may impact participant confidence, hedging demand, and overall market stability.

Threats from Clearing and Counterparty Exposure

Although robust risk management mechanisms are in place, extreme market movements or participant defaults could expose the Exchange and its clearing ecosystem to financial and operational risks. In periods of heightened volatility, increased margin requirements and liquidity pressures may impact market participation and settlement efficiency. Effective management of clearing and settlement risks remains critical to maintaining market integrity and investor confidence.

Declining Participation in Agricultural Commodities

Agricultural commodity markets in India continue to face structural challenges including fragmented supply chains, regulatory restrictions, lower awareness among farmers and other stakeholders to derivatives trading, and periodic government interventions. Limited participation from physical market stakeholders in agricultural commodity contracts could restrict growth opportunities in this segment and reduce diversification benefits for the Exchange.

Talent Acquisition and Retention Challenges

The increasing demand for skilled professionals in financial technology, cybersecurity, quantitative analytics, and digital innovation may intensify competition for talent across the financial services industry. Failure to attract, develop, and retain specialized talent could impact MCXs ability to innovate and execute strategic initiatives, and maintain its leadership position in a rapidly evolving market environment.

Market Perception and Reputational Risks

As a critical financial market infrastructure institution, MCXs reputation is closely linked to market integrity, transparency, and operational reliability. Any adverse events such as technology failures, regulatory actions, market manipulation incidents, or governance concerns could negatively affect stakeholder trust and brand value. Maintaining strong governance standards and investor confidence remains essential for sustainable growth.

Cyber Security Management

Cyber security is increasingly becoming critical with emerging threats which seek to exploit vulnerability in the systems. For MCX, being a MII, providing an online trading platform, cybersecurity is of paramount importance to ensure trust among the Market Participants, Regulators and Stakeholders.

In view of such threats, MCX has adopted a defense-indepth strategy to ensure information security at all layers with well-defined Cyber Security and Cyber Resilience Policy and comprehensive Information Security policy. MCX has established best in class Cyber Security Operations Center (C-SOC) which operates 24x7x365 for continuous monitoring, detection, quick response and recovery in case of any type of cyber-attacks. Information Security team has implemented people, process and technology security controls in the form of best-in-class tools and technologies, processes aligned with global standards like ISO 27001:2022, NIST etc., and regular awareness initiates to strengthen the human firewall for protection against cyber-attacks. The Cyber Security awareness sessions are also being extended to the market participants for creating awareness to build robust cyber security and cyber resilience framework in the commodity market at large.

Constant enhancement and continuous improvement in the Cyber Security Framework and Information Security Management System has been your Companys top priority. Your Company is ISO 27001:2022 certified and organizations Information Security Policy is formulated on the same standard.

To manage cyber security risks associated with processes, information, networks, systems and applications, the Cyber Security and Cyber Resilience Policy of your Company includes the following:

i. Identify critical IT assets and risks associated with such assets;

ii. Protect assets by deploying suitable controls, tools and measures;

iii. Detect incidents, anomalies and attacks through appropriate monitoring tools/processes;

iv. Respond by taking immediate steps after identification of the incident, anomaly or attack;

v. Recover from incident through incident management, disaster recovery and business continuity framework.

Your Company has strengthened the Business Continuity Plan (BCP) and Disaster Recovery (DR) Policy and framework considering the latest SEBI Guidelines for BCP-DR of MIIs, with an objective to put in place measures to restore operations of critical systems within stipulated Recovery Time Objective (RTO), streamlining communication protocols, identifying broad scenarios of disaster, escalation hierarchy among others.

RISKS AND CONCERNS

Your Companys business and financial performance depend on various internal and external factors, some of which may give rise to risks and concerns.

(a) Market Risks

Geopolitical and Trade Risks

Ongoing geopolitical conflicts in West Asia and elsewhere and increasing trade protectionist measures led by the United States, continue to pose risks to global commodity markets. Escalating tariffs, sanctions, supply chain disruptions and uncertainty in international trade may lead to heightened volatility across energy, bullion, metals and agricultural commodities. Such developments could impact trading patterns, investor sentiments and overall market stability, thereby influencing business operations and market participation for your Company, being a leading commodity exchange.

Currency Fluctuation Risk

Volatility in global currency markets, particularly movements in the Indian Rupee against major international currencies such as the US Dollar, may impact commodity prices, import- export dynamics and overall market sentiment. Sharp currency fluctuations driven by geopolitical developments, monetary policy changes and global economic uncertainty could influence trading volumes and hedging activity across commodity derivatives markets. As a leading derivatives exchange, your Company remains exposed to risks arising from adverse foreign exchange movements and their impact on market participation and investor confidence.

Global Economic Risk

Global economic slowdown, persistent inflationary pressures, changing interest rate environments and evolving monetary policies across major economies may continue to impact commodity demand and financial market stability. Uncertainty in global growth prospects, coupled with disruptions in international trade and investment flows, could adversely affect commodity prices, market liquidity and investor participation. As a leading commodity exchange, your Company remains exposed to risks arising from changing global macroeconomic conditions and their potential impact on trading activity and overall market sentiment.

(b) Business Risks

Risk of Liquidity Fragmentation from Identical Products

Your Company operates in an industry characterized by competitive pressures, with domestic Exchanges offering near-identical products in the commodity derivatives segment. This phenomenon can disperse trading liquidity, which can increase transaction costs and reduce overall market efficiency. Furthermore, direct competition may lead to aggressive pricing pressures, potentially eroding the Companys profit margins and limiting revenue growth.

Risk of Global Benchmark Disruptions

Indian physical market participants (particularly in the metals and energy sectors) often rely on global trading hubs for reference prices. Any disruption at these prominent international platforms can severely impact the price discovery process of such commodities for domestic stakeholders. When price signals become uncertain, domestic market participants often hesitate to execute trades. Such declines in participation and volume directly can impact the Exchanges transaction-based revenue streams.

Escalating Costs of Technological and Physical Infrastructure

Operating as a Market Infrastructure Institution (MII) demands infusion of substantial, continuous capital. To accommodate rising trading volumes and meet stringent market demands, your Company must consistently invest in expensive, mission- critical infrastructure. The necessity to upgrade trading platforms, enhancing data centres to achieve faster execution speeds and maintain robust cybersecurity defences. These technological upgrades are necessary not only to enhance operational efficiency but also to ensure compliance with regulatory standards and uphold market integrity. These expenditures could increase with increasing demands from stakeholders, expansion of business and challenging cyber threats.

Staff Attrition

In the fast-paced and dynamic industry landscape, many organizations, including your Company, may face the issue of high employee turnover. This challenge brings with it both apparent and indirect costs. The process of recruiting and training new employees incurs substantial time and monetary investments, and the departure of seasoned employees results in the loss of valuable skills and institutional knowledge. These factors directly impact organizational productivity, potentially leading to diminished revenue and missed prospects.

(c) Financial Risks

Imposition or enhancement of statutory costs

Any new tax, increase in a tax, coverage of a tax on new activities or a new statutory levy may dampen volumes, thereby impacting your Companys profitability. An unexpected tax demand or levy of a fee/ fine may also, likewise, affect your Companys profitability.

Monetary policy changes

During the financial year 2025-26, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) adapted its monetary policy stance to support economic growth amid easing inflation. The central bank lowered the repo rate to 5.25% by December 2025. This decision was influenced by a notable moderation in consumer price inflation. The RBI has now adopted a "wait and watch" neutral stance to navigate volatile global economic conditions while securing stability. Meanwhile, the war in West Asia, together with anticipation of El Nino conditions having implications for the monsoon, can jeopardise inflation management in the near to medium term - putting pressure on the central bank to raise rates. Changes in monetary policy could directly impact your Companys treasury income through impact on yields on fixed-income investments.

(d) Regulatory Risks

Suspension/ Ban on Trading in Derivative Contracts

Futures contracts on agricultural commodities traded on MCX have been subject to suspensions from time to time, the last being the suspension on Crude Palm Oil (CPO) Futures. Suspended first on December 20, 2021, the contract has been kept on suspension multiple times, the last being till March 31, 2027. Before its suspension, MCX CPO Futures had clocked an average daily turnover of around Rs.380 crores during April-November 2021, hence its suspension resulted in a loss in trade volumes and income for the Exchange. Your Company faces risks of such abrupt suspensions/ bans on commodity derivative contracts in the future too. Such suspensions can have direct and indirect consequences. Directly, they result in an unexpected and unplanned loss of transaction revenue for the Company. Indirectly, they can undermine the confidence of market participants in the continuity of other derivative contracts as well.

Technical Glitches

A technical glitch at the Exchange can cause disruption in trading activity, leading to stringent regulatory actions, including liabilities for monetary fines and business restrictions. Since the exchange platform is heavily dependent on its technological systems, any technical glitch can, therefore, have adverse regulatory and financial repercussions.

Adverse Regulatory and Policy Decisions

All aspects of your Companys operations are subject to regulatory oversight. Changes in Laws, Regulations, Taxation etc., or new Rules, Regulations or Policies may necessitate the Company to allocate more resources for compliance, in turn increasing operational expenses. This may impede the Companys ability to operate and grow its business. Besides, changes in policies or introduction of new policies can also compel your Company to significantly alter its business strategy, involving significant costs.

(e) Technology-related Risks

Migration to New Technology Platform

The new CDP platform comprises the following three offerings:

• Trading Platform for Trading and Market Data Feeds

• Frontend applications for Securities Trading

• Platform for Real-time Clearing, Real-time Risk Management, Collateral Management, Settlement, and Reporting

MCX has been making sustained investments in both technology and human capital, reflecting our long-term commitment to resiliency, efficiency and regulatory alignment. During this period, MCX has continuously invested in encompassing infra upgrades, system modernization, cybersecurity enhancements, scalability and operational continuity in line with evolving business and regulatory requirements. The exchange has consistently strengthened its human capital in technology, risk management, compliance and operations. Continuous training and skill upgradation are continuously undertaken to ensure that staff capabilities keep pace with technology advancements.

MCXs Continuous efforts on upgradation/enhancement of the Information Technology and related Infrastructure and constantly monitoring the performance. With the growth in Business MCX has ramped up its technology investments to cater to evolving needs. This reflects MCX commitment in building long-term sophisticated system to ensure credibility and reliability of its system.

Post migration to the new Technology platform on October 16, 2023, the Exchange has seen significant growth in trading volumes in subsequent years and the new Technology Platform has scaled up to handle these volumes seamlessly. We have also enhanced the in-house team capabilities to handle the quality assurance, operations and support of the new Technology platform.

Our business environment is marked by constant and rapid technological advancements. To maintain our competitive edge, your Company continues to work on upgrades, enhancements and improve the performance, capacity, scalability, accessibility and features of our trading and clearing, systems and technologies.

Vulnerability to obsolescence and cyber-attacks

The successful operations of your Companys business and operations are dependent in part on the use and deployment of technology. However, technology is susceptible to obsolescence and increasing cyber-attacks from across the globe. To continue to be the Exchange of choice to its stakeholders, your Company needs to continuously update and upgrade technology infrastructure, connectivity, continuously assess security posture and invest in cutting edge security solutions exchange operations, driving growth and ensuring market continuity. Your core trading platform and mission-critical applications are hosted at our Mumbai headquarters. To ensure Business continuity, we maintain a fully functional BCP site in GIFT City, built to achieve seamless failover and restore operations strictly within regulatory Recovery Time Objectives (RTO).

Your Company had carried out unannounced live trading twice from its DR Site in FY 2025-26 as a part of regulatory compliance. All the trading & surveillance operations were carried out from the DR Site. Post live trading from DR site, your Company recommenced its operations from its Primary Site smoothly.

SETTLEMENT RISK MANAGEMENT

(f) Reputational Risk

The Exchange proactively manages reputational risk through robust corporate governance, strict regulatory compliance, transparency and timely disclosures, and effective grievance redressal mechanisms. Regular stakeholder engagement, prompt communication protocols and market surveillance further reinforce participants trust and safeguard Exchange reputation.

RISK MITIGATION PLAN

Your Company regularly reviews the risks it faces and takes appropriate action to minimize the likelihood of such occurrences or their impact.

Your Company, being the market leader, has been seeking to expand the overall market by introducing new products and bringing more participants. Further, your Company believes in introducing products after thorough market research and feedback and intends to capitalize on its large network and physical market connect. This gives your Company a competitive edge over others and helps to meet challenges posed by competitors. Further, your Company has been seeking to diversify its product basket, by adding more products in futures, as well as options across commodity segments. A well- diversified product basket should help the Company to counter over dependence on single product / segment in prices.

To minimize the effect of interest rate volatility on treasury income, your Company continuously monitoring its portfolio to be in line with the market trends. Your Company has adopted amortization method for investments held till maturity.

As a part of the risk mitigation and containment plan for avoiding business disruption, your Company has focused on strengthening its core technology infrastructure so that there is no single point of failure, thereby, ensuring uninterrupted trading operations. MCXs technology infrastructure is the foundation of our business and a key contributor to the Exchanges functioning and development. MCX state-of-the- art technology infrastructure forms the backbone of your Subsequent to operationalization of MCXCCL in 2018, risk management, clearing and settlement, warehousing functions are being undertaken by the clearing corporation. MCXCCL ensures that within the regulatory framework, an efficient and effective clearing and settlement activity along with an effective funds settlement mechanism, commodities delivery mechanism are adhered to. Above all, it maintains a robust risk management system by levying margins real time and to that effect carries out daily stress tests and maintains a Settlement Guarantee Fund. Further, it has laid down various margin requirements to safeguard members and the ecosystem against adverse market movements. It has necessitated all its clearing members to have a certain minimum net worth and confirm their net worth on a half-yearly basis, which enables it to monitor and ensure their financial strength. It has also implemented additional risk mitigation measures as part of member monitoring like Margin Shortfall Block Amount, Risk Reduction Mode, Square off Mode, Exposure Free Deposit for MTM Shortage, etc.

STRATEGY

Your Company aims to further strengthen its position as a leading Exchange in India and beyond, providing participants with a safe and effective platform for price risk management and price discovery, by integrating the Exchanges products and services with domestic industry. Your Company also constantly looks for new product innovation and development and offers state-of-the-art services to all its stakeholders.

Focusing on physical market integration

In pursuit of the vision of One Nation One Price, your Company endeavours at creating strong benchmark prices for multiple commodities through its transparent and trusted platform for price discovery. By extending the footprint of the commodity derivatives market across the nation, the Exchange also endeavours to maintain its position as the Exchange of Choice for stakeholders looking for an effective platform to hedge their commodity price risks. You company through MCXCCL maintains approved depository and clearing facilities in several other major industrial zones.

To make the Exchanges bullion derivative contracts more relevant to the physical market players and in line with the broader national objective of Atmanirbhar Bharat, your Company established Good Delivery norms for BIS standard gold in March 2021, and embarked upon the path of recognizing domestic bullion refiners for good delivery of gold bars against Gold Mini (100 grams) Futures contracts. The initiative aims to ensure high standards of quality, purity, refining practices within India and delivery assurance for gold traded on the Exchange, thereby enhancing market confidence and supporting efficient physical settlement. Delivery of 7,783 kgs of Indian refined gold valued at Rs.10,171 crores was successfully seen under this route during the year FY 2025-26, out of cumulative total delivery of 18,578 kg valued at Rs.16,546 crores achieved under India Good Delivery, till March 31,2026.

The success of India Good Delivery norms in gold has encouraged the Exchange to create such norms for silver also. Accordingly, standards have been drawn and suppliers who meet these norms have been invited to be empanelled for MCX Good Delivery of silver.

The creation of standards and empanelment of domestic refiners reinforces MCXs commitment towards establishing globally aligned bullion standards and promoting transparency, trust and efficiency in Indias precious metals market.

MCX also added three UAE Good Delivery (UAEGD) standard refiners-Al Etihad Gold, Emirates Gold, and Sam Precious Metals-to its empanelled list for Gold Mini futures contracts, streamlining cross-border bullion integration and bolstering trade ties. Launched to reinforce integrity, transparency, and responsible sourcing of precious metals, the UAEGD Standard acts as a global quality passport, verifying that gold bars strictly meet international benchmarks for purity and weight. This landmark recognition by MCX allows 100-gram gold bars produced by these accredited UAE facilities to be seamlessly accepted for physical delivery and settlement on MCX.

The initiative of empanelling local gold refiners was extended to local Lead suppliers from March 2022. Lead from the empanelled brands, deliverable in ingot form, enhance market confidence by ensuring quality assurance, wider participation, and efficient physical settlement mechanisms in the Lead futures segment on the Exchange. An independent study undertaken by IIT Kharagpur concluded that empanelment of domestic Lead brands is leading to efficient price discovery of the metal, reflecting the domestic market conditions.

Base Metal derivatives contracts have been experiencing significant deliveries since the transition of their settlement to compulsory delivery from the year 2019, underscoring the utility of delivery-based contracts in the market landscape and the efficiency of MCXCCLs delivery mechanism. Base Metals together witnessed cumulative delivery of 5.6 lakhs tons till March 2026, while delivery during the year FY 2025-26 was 95,782 tons.

Enhancing participation

Your Company has been making all efforts to broaden market participation and deepen liquidity across commodity derivatives contracts by expanding engagement with retail investors, small enterprises, corporates, and institutional participants like mutual funds, Alternative Investment Funds and Forein Portfolio Investors. To strengthen market accessibility and reinforce its role in efficient price discovery and risk management within the Indian economy, MCX is driving growth through targeted product innovation, strengthening trade infrastructure, and initiatives at deeper ecosystem integration. Such initiatives include launching innovative products like Futures and Options on commodity indices, modifying strike prices as per investors dynamic requirements, introducing sector-specific contracts suiting electricity consumers and producers. Further, the Exchange has been making extensive efforts to mainstream commodities in portfolio allocation through intensive outreach and investor awareness initiatives.

Expanding product suite

Your Company remains committed to expanding and diversifying its product suite in line with evolving market requirements and global commodity trends. The Exchange continues to explore the introduction of innovative contracts across bullion, energy, base metals, agricultural commodities and emerging sectors, while also enhancing existing products to improve usability and market relevance. Through product innovation, contract customization and alignment with industry needs, MCX aims to create a more vibrant and inclusive commodity derivatives marketplace capable of catering to the diverse hedging and investment requirements of participants. MCX can strengthen its product suite strategy by simultaneously launching innovative contracts and enhancing the efficiency and relevance of existing products. On the new product front, the exchange can introduce derivatives linked to emerging sectors such as battery metals, carbon credits, freight, and environmental commodities, while also expanding participation through index-based commodity products, options on commodity indices, and sector-specific contracts aligned with Indias evolving economic landscape. Expanding agricultural derivatives with better warehousing integration and regional benchmark contracts can further deepen market participation. At the same time, MCX can improve existing products by increasing liquidity through market-making initiatives, optimizing contract design and lot sizes for wider accessibility, extending trading tenures, strengthening price dissemination, and aligning specifications more closely with industry hedging needs. Enhancing delivery mechanisms, integrating global best practices, and introducing data analytics and risk-management tools can also improve user confidence and trading efficiency. Together, these measures can help MCX build a broader, more liquid, and globally competitive commodity derivatives ecosystem while reinforcing Indias position in global price discovery.

Focus on strengthening technological and information security capabilities

As a part of the commitment to our stakeholders and the partner ecosystem, your Company undertakes proactive audits and assessments to strengthen its core processes, cyber security posture and adherence to regulatory guidelines.

Your Company has also implemented best in class security technologies, continuous threat exposure measures to protect the organization from potential internal & external cyber threats. Your Company has also prioritized and ensured strong data security measures by leveraging latest technologies.

INITIATIVES

Your Company remains committed to strengthening its processes and creating products to uphold the trust bestowed by its stakeholders. During the year FY 2025-26, your Company undertook several initiatives to remain at the forefront of product and process innovations and facilitate the development of Indias commodity derivatives market.

Launch of new products

In response to market demand, your Company launched new products to provide trading and hedging opportunities. In a landmark development for Indias energy sector, MCX became the first exchange to launch electricity futures in India, with trading of MCX Electricity monthly base load Futures contracts commencing on July 10, 2025. Approved by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in June 2025, the launch of this cash-settled contract marked a critical shift in the Indian power market, offering a secure, transparent platform for generators, distribution companies (DISCOMs), and large industrial consumers to hedge against volatility in electricity prices. The contracts are designed to provide a reliable price discovery mechanism, particularly necessary for navigating seasonal demand fluctuations and erratic weather patterns that affect power supply and hence electricity prices. By facilitating this new derivative instrument, MCX aims to modernize Indias energy landscape, reducing the risks associated with price fluctuations in the short-term spot market and fostering greater financial stability in power procurement.

Further, to deepen the Electricity futures market, MCX introduced a Liquidity Enhancement Scheme (LES) for the contract, initially for six months, which has now been extended till July 09, 2026.

Earlier, MCX launched Gold Ten (10-gram) futures contract, with trading commencing on April 01, 2025, aimed at improving market accessibility for retail investors and smaller participants. This contract provides a cost-effective, smaller-unit alternative to the existing 1 kg Gold and 100-gram Gold Mini contracts, facilitating easier inventory hedging for jewellers and smaller traders. With a compulsory delivery mechanism, the contract ensures physical settlement at MCX-accredited vaults, featuring a 999 purity standard for the underlying 10 grams of gold.

On June 01,2026, MCX launched the Silver 100 futures contracts, with a lot size of 100 gram silver. The new Silver contract offer an accessible entry point to hedgers and investors, complementing existing contracts with larger denominations like Silver (30 kg), Silver Mini (5 kg) and Silver Micro (1 kg) contracts.

During the year FY 2025-26, MCX also initiated changes to its existing commodity portfolio by launching a modified Nickel futures contract and updating the structure of the Cotton futures contract to better align with physical market dynamics. Effective August 18, 2025, MCX Nickel contract was re-introduced with a re-designed trading unit reduced to 250 kg (down from 1,500 kg) and 1.5-tonne delivery lot. This revised contract is also characterised by a change in its expiry to the third Wednesday of the month and Thane as the sole delivery centre. Concurrently, addressing the needs of textile mills and ginners to streamline trading, the Exchange shifted its Cotton futures contract specifications from a candy-based system to a bales-based one. Under the revised structure, the trading unit has been adjusted to 25 bales (from 48-candy contracts) to offer better hedging mechanisms, with delivery units fixed at 100 bales. These strategic modifications reflect a move to align with market practices and improve participation of industrial users and Value Chain Participants.

Changes to the options strike price intervals

In a move to manage heightened market volatility and align with surging underlying prices, your Exchange implemented changes to the Options strike price intervals for various products during the year. Effective January 29, 2026, MCX widened the strike price intervals for Silver (30 kg) and Silver Mini (5 kg) options on futures to Rs. 1,000 from the previous 250. This adjustment, affecting both existing and newly launched contracts, was prompted by silver surpassing the Rs. 4 lakhs per kilogram mark, rendering the narrower, earlier intervals impractical for effective trading. Shortly after, on January 30, 2026, similar revisions were applied to Gold and Gold Mini options with their strike intervals increased from 100 to 500. Furthermore, the Exchange also modified the contract specifications-including strike price intervals-for Copper and Zinc options in late April 2026, increasing the strike interval from Rs. 5 to Rs. 10 for copper and from Rs. 2.5 to Rs. 5 for Zinc. These revisions during the year, including structural adjustments in options contracts, were aimed at aligning the contracts to changed conditions in physical markets and the contracts more meaningful for price discovery and risk management during volatile market conditions.

Democratising access to institutional-grade gold

MCX re-affirmed its commitment to market inclusion of retail participants by facilitating easy and door-step delivery of bullion through the Exchange-delivery mechanism. Launched in partnership with an MCX Member, the initiative enables retail investors to purchase physical gold and silver at live, transparent MCX exchange prices, eliminating the markups and hidden spreads often found in traditional digital and physical gold products. By facilitating the delivery of this product through MCX Clearing Corporation Ltd (MCXCCL), every purchase is rooted in direct, secure physical settlement of the clearing house — ensuring trust and transparency. Investors can choose to securely store their assets in MCX-partnered, exchange-regulated vaults or request doorstep delivery. This initiative, launched on April 29, 2026, democratizes access to institutional-grade bullion trading, bringing the safety standards thought to be the domain of large players alone, to the fingertips of the common investor.

Outreach initiatives

Your Company has been proactively taking initiatives to raise awareness among diverse stakeholders about the significance and advantages of a well-operating, transparent commodity derivatives market. The Exchange has also been implementing various measures to educate potential hedgers on the need, benefits, and mechanisms of price risk management using exchange-traded commodity derivatives. During the year FY 2025-26, your Company launched multiple investor awareness campaigns to educate potential investors on investing in commodities through exchange-traded derivatives. The awareness programmes conducted were in collaboration with Exchange Members, media channels, industrial associations, banks and brokers associations, among others. The Exchange has also been conducting online outreach programmes to reach out to distant stakeholders who cannot attend these programmes in person to further promote awareness and understanding of commodity derivatives.

The details of some of such outreach initiatives are given below:

a) Your Company conducted 3,051 awareness programmes for and in association with various stakeholder groups during the year FY 2025-26. In conducting these programmes, MCX strategically partnered with industry bodies and associations such as ASSOCHAM, ANMI, the Commodity & Capital Market Participants Association of India (CPAI), The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), etc. The Exchange helped local communities and farmers by teaming up with development groups and trade associations during the year. These included the Samunnati Foundation, MASA (Metal & Manufacturing), Karnataka Cotton Association, Madhyanchal Cotton Ginners and Traders Association, CIMAP, etc. giving farmers and manufacturers simple tools to protect their businesses. MCX also participated in India Energy Week 2026, which was supported by the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas and organized by the Federation of Indian Petroleum Industry (FIPI).

To reach different regions, MCX partnered with local business groups such as the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Kolkata Chamber of Commerce in the East, and the Bhavnagar Metal Merchant Association and the Choksi Mahajan Association in the West. The Exchange also worked closely with retail and consumer trade groups to teach business owners how to manage price risks. This was done through joint programmes with major groups like the Indian Bullion and Jewellers Association Ltd. (IBJA), the All India Gem and Jeweler Domestic Council (GJC), and the Madurai Jewelers & Bullion Merchants Association, etc.

b) MCX conducted 849 events during the year exclusively focused on Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) and farmers. This was done to spread awareness amongst the farming community about how price discovery and price dissemination by exchanges can enable them to realize better prices while selling their agricultural produce. Similarly, the Exchange conducted 376 events exclusively for women participants during the year.

c) Under the aegis of SEBI, MCX observed World Investor Week during October 06, 2025 -October 12, 2025 spreading awareness and information about investment in safe and regulated marketplaces. This was part of a global initiative launched by the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO). As many as 115 investor awareness programs were conducted by the Exchange across the country, apart from undertaking several other initiatives for knowledge dissemination through quizzes, crosswords, videos, podcasts, etc. Additionally, MCX organised of 2 Mega RISA events under the guidance of SEBI and in association with other Exchanges at Rajkot (Gujarat) and Jaipur (Rajasthan), in order to create awareness among various stakeholders.

d) MCX has extensively used the popular electronic and social media channels to A variety of media activities were conducted during FY 2025-26 using different modes such as print, TV, radio, digital, OOH and social media campaigns on YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram with the objective of creating awareness about commodity derivatives markets among stakeholders and general investors.

f) To recognize and honor the performance of commodity market stakeholders and acknowledge their contribution in the growth and development of the Indian commodity derivatives market, MCX hosted the Sixth MCX Awards June 06, 2025. A large number of awards were given out to stakeholders for their outstanding contribution under 23 different categories.

g) To protect investors from misinformation and frauds, especially on electronic and social media channels, your Company has been taking up a number of initiatives. MCX regularly publishes alerts to caution the public of sources providing illegal trading tips or indulging in illegitimate transactions. The Exchange has also been requesting concerned authorities to close down illegal websites where there was misuse of the MCX brand.

Educational Initiatives

Your Company regularly engages with educational institutions to spread knowledge about commodity markets among students and academicians. A large number of awareness events for the academic community were conducted during the year, in partnership with educational institutions. The Exchange also conducted the 8^th edition of MCX-IPF COMQUEST, a national-level, multi-stage educational quiz on commodity markets, culminating in the Grand Finale which was conducted on February 27, 2026. Over 12,500 enthusiastic students representing over 940 academic institutions from 250 cities and towns across India registered for the quiz, which concluded with 8 competing finalists battling for the top position, after having qualified at two preliminary rounds.

Cyber Security Awareness Month

MCX observed October 2025 as the Cyber Security Awareness Month, an initiative under the aegis of Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In). Activities such as mandatory awareness trainings for all employees, Sessions & Tabletop Exercises by external experts, trainings by NCIIPC, posters & slogan making competitions, quizzes, cyber games, awards & recognition etc., were conducted by the Exchange throughout the month to create awareness on cyber security and enhance preparedness among employees against cyberattacks. Being a Critical Information Infrastructure (CII), your Company places the highest importance to maintaining cyber security and promoting its awareness among all relevant stakeholders.

Publications

MCX publishes various articles in print media and engages with the electronic media to create awareness about the benefits of the commodity derivatives markets. Officials of your Company write articles on issues relevant for commodity markets which are published in publications with wide outreach. Awareness is also created about commodity markets, including hedging using commodity derivatives, and safe trading, through various channels of the electronic media including regional channels.

In addition, various commodity-specific brochures providing information on hedging, investment, disclosures, etc. are published in multiple languages to spread awareness about opportunities for hedging and investment in the commodity derivatives market.

Research Studies

Your Company took up a number of research studies on various themes connected to the commodity derivatives market. Details are provided in the Directors Report section of the Annual Report.

OUTLOOK

Over the years, your Company has established itself as a leading and reliable platform for efficient price discovery and helping investors manage the complex risks associated with commodity price volatility. The demand for these services is likely to remain at elevated levels in the times to come, which poses a positive outlook for your Company.

Assessment of global commodity markets indicate that price fluctuations are likely to continue in the near future. Several key factors contribute to this situation, including geopolitical uncertainties that can lead to sudden shifts in commodity availability and pricing, as well as increasingly intense impacts of climate change which can disrupt production and supply chains in commodities. Additionally, uneven economic growth across different regions and varying fiscal and monetary policies implemented by central banks worldwide adds layers of complexity to the market landscape and, thereby, volatility in commodity prices. In such a volatile environment, effective risk management, diversification of sourcing and markets, and agile business strategies have become more crucial than ever. Market participants are increasingly turning to derivative instruments for hedging price risks and navigating the uncertainties of the economy. This growing culture of proactive risk management is encouraging organizations of all sizes to seek solutions from hedging platforms such as MCX for effective risk mitigation. This evolving trend underscores the importance of strategic risk management in todays markets and presents an opportunity for your Company to engage with and support these firms as they navigate the challenges of commodity price fluctuations. Your Company is well-positioned to capitalize on this emerging demand.

Economic Growth

The Indian economy is likely to continue on its high growth trajectory in the short to medium run. The National Statistical Office (NSO) of India, on February 27, 2026, released its Second Advance Estimates of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the financial year 2025-26. According to these estimates, the real GDP growth rate is estimated at 7.6% in 2025-26, higher than the global growth. Further, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in its Annual Report released in May 2026, projected that Indias GDP is expected to grow at 6.9% for the year 2026-27. Strong domestic fundamentals, robust rural demand, improved urban consumption, and such related factors are expected to support expansion of the domestic economy. By strategically aligning its services with growing market demand, leveraging the rising demand for risk management and other services in a growing economy and exploring new opportunities, your Company aims to sustain a strong growth trajectory. Your Companys commitment to resilience and proactively picking on the emerging opportunities can enable it to capitalize on these trends and drive its overall performance.

Establishing Indian Benchmarks for Commodities

As India continues to be a major consumer and./ or producer of many commodities, MCX remains focused on strengthening its transparent and efficient price discovery mechanism that reflect all relevant market fundamentals. By enhancing participation across a wide cross section of market stakeholders, including value chain participants, the Exchange is contributing towards the development of credible India-centric benchmark prices across key commodities such as gold, silver and base metals.

Indias significant share in global consumption of bullion and industrial metals provides strong potential for domestic derivatives prices to increasingly influence regional and global trade references. With contract designs that imbibe all relevant factors in prices such as costs, duty etc, as well as growing liquidity, transparent trading, and deeper market participation, derivatives contracts traded on MCX can progressively reflect real-time Indian demand-supply dynamics, import costs, logistics, currency fluctuations and industrial consumption trends. The exchanges continued efforts towards product innovation, strengthening delivery-based ecosystems, empanelment of internationally recognised refiners/ suppliers and warehouses, alignment with global quality standards and stronger integration with physical markets are expected to further enhance the credibility and acceptance of MCX prices as the truly accepted benchmark prices. Over time, sustained liquidity, and wider adoption of MCX prices for imports, exports and hedging activities would position India as an influential contributor to global commodity price discovery and support the evolution of MCX derivatives into globally referenced benchmark contracts.

MATERIAL DEVELOPMENTS IN HUMAN RESOURCES

As on March 31, 2026, the Exchange had 478 employees, including employees and management trainees. The Company remains committed to attracting, retaining, and nurturing talent, while fostering a high-performance and inclusive work environment.

Recognizing people as a key driver of organizational success, the Exchange continued to focus on employee engagement, capability development, and employee well-being through various initiatives aimed at strengthening workplace culture and enhancing the overall employee experience.

During the year, the Company undertook several employee engagement and welfare initiatives, including employee welfare programmes, festive celebrations, sports and recreational activities, and other employee-centric events designed to promote collaboration, well-being, and a sense of belonging across the organization.

The Company conducted its annual Employee Satisfaction Survey to assess employee sentiment, identify areas for improvement, and strengthen organizational effectiveness. The insights gathered through the survey continue to support the Companys efforts towards enhancing employee engagement and workplace practices.

During FY 2025-26, MCX made significant investments in building a future-ready workforce through a structured Learning & Development strategy aligned to business priorities, leadership capability, digital transformation, customer excellence, and regulatory compliance. The organization achieved an overall learning coverage of 95%, with 100% coverage of MD reportees and over 95% coverage among senior leadership and management cadres.

Key initiatives included executive leadership development programs, AI and digital mindset workshops, customer experience excellence, risk culture, governance and accountability programs, technical certifications, and business strategy master classes. These interventions have strengthened the leadership pipeline, enhanced succession readiness, fostered a high-performance and customer-centric culture, accelerated digital adoption, improved regulatory and governance capabilities, and reinforced MCXs commitment to developing internal talent.

The Exchange also organized its Annual Employee Event, providing a platform for employees across locations to come together, celebrate achievements, and reinforce the Companys values and culture.

Quarterly Townhall Meetings were conducted to facilitate transparent communication between leadership and employees, enabling the sharing of business updates, strategic priorities, and organizational developments.

In addition, MD-Management Connect sessions are organized during the year, providing employees other than with an opportunity to engage directly with senior leadership, exchange ideas, seek clarifications, and foster an environment of openness and collaboration.

An objective performance management framework based on Key Result Areas (KRAs) continues to be implemented across all levels of the organization to drive accountability, performance excellence, and professional development.

The Company continues to leverage its HR portal, "HR- Connect", to support employee lifecycle management, including training and development, performance evaluation, feedback mechanisms, development planning, and the online submission of various operational and administrative requests. The platform contributes to improved transparency, efficiency, and employee experience across the organization.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT

In this annual report some future developments which are expected to be implemented have been given. This has been done with a view to help investors better understand the Companys future prospects and make informed decisions while interacting with the Exchange. This annual report and other written and oral statements made from time to time may contain such forward looking statements based on Managements current plans and assumptions. It cannot be guaranteed that any forward-looking statement will be realized, although, we believe, we have been prudent in our plans and assumptions. Achievement of future results is subject to risks, uncertainties and inaccurate assumptions. Should known or unknown risks or uncertainties materialize, or should the underlying assumptions prove inaccurate, actual results could vary materially from those anticipated, estimated or projected. Investors should bear this in mind when they consider forwardlooking statements. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.