Forex trading in India: market review and top online brokers

The Republic of India is the seventh-largest by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Globally, it has emerged as the fastest-growing major economy and is expected to be one of the top three economic powers over the next 10-15 years, backed by its robust democracy and strong partnerships.

India is predominantly a service-based economy that also boasts robust agricultural and export sectors. Its GDP value represents 2.32% of the world economy.

Indian Rupee (INR) is the official currency of the Republic of India and ranks as the 16th most traded currency in the global Forex market as of September 2021. The USD/INR pair has traded with volatility triggers being Central Bank interventions as well as changes in commodity prices.

According to a Boston Consulting Group (BCG) report, India is expected to be the third-largest consumer economy as its consumption may triple to US$ 4 trillion by 2025, owing to shifts in consumer behavior and expenditure patterns. It is estimated to surpass the US to become the second-largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP) by 2040 as per a report by PWC.

Forex market in India

With $6.6 trillion worth of volume, the Forex market is one of the most liquid markets in the world. However, it is equally volatile and carries considerable risk exposure. To protect traders against unpredictable market movement, the Indian government applies several limitations on currency trading. 

For example:

• Investors can only with regulated brokers, opening positions in pairs involving Indian Rupees and three world’s major currencies
• Traders can only trade currency derivatives.

In other words, in India, SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) protects Indian citizens, encouraging them to trade only with regulated brokers to minimize the risk of trading losses. However, if Forex transactions are carried out through a reliable Forex trading platform and the base currency is Indian Rupee, they are legal. 

XM Group can provide you with the opportunity to trade these popular currency pairs mentioned above! It has some of the most favorable conditions for currency pairs trading, including good leverage and a Forex bonus of up to $5000 for your first deposit.  Also, XM offers an outstanding selection of high-quality educational content and market research.

To serve users from more than 190 countries, XM has pursued regulation from some of the most relevant financial authorities, including ASIC, CySEC, and FCA. 

Traders of all experience levels can learn to trade skillfully using the site’s inclusive educational materials. In addition, for any questions, the XM team provides customer support in more than 30 languages, including Hindi. 

How to start Forex trading in India

The process of getting into trading, however, differs across brokers, and here you can find our step-by-step instructions on how to start your trader journey. 

Step1: Open an account with a regulated broker 

First, you need to sign up with a regulated broker. Choose one globally known with respectable regulators, so you can be sure of your trading security. In this review, we listed some of the most reliable, globally known brokers whose popularity in India also goes upwards. With them, you can open a retail account and start trading immediately, or practice first with a demo version. There are no limitations on how many accounts with how many brokers you can have, so you can pick several and try them out. This way you can not only explore your opportunities but also maximize the benefits and bonuses you get. 

Step 2: Navigating the market 

Brokers are actually interested in improving your trading competence. And they are right to invest in it – the more you know about a market, the better you understand how it works, the more actively you trade, the more profit you make, and the longer stay with them. 

Brokers, mentioned in this review, provide their users with trading guides, e-books, expert articles, and educational videos. Or, even better, the Copy Trading feature. By doing so, you have a chance to earn some passive income by subscribing to professional traders and automatically copying their moves. 

Step 3: Deposit funds into your account 

To start trading, you need an active account. If you want to start trading right away, then check the available payment systems your broker offers and select the one that suits you. Or, if you wanna practice first, you can open a demo account with virtual money on your balance. 

Step 4: Access the trading platform 

Traders require a trading platform to connect to the Forex market. MetaTrader4 and MetaTrader5 are the industry’s most popular trading platforms. However, brokers also offer their custom-built proprietary trading platforms. You have the choice to access a trading platform online or use it on a desktop.

Step 5: Practice and start placing real deals

Once you are done with all the prerequisites, you are all set to begin trading. After logging into a trading platform, find the permissible trading pairs, and then you can officially begin trading. However, you can also manage risk by expanding your approach. 

For example, you can trade with some brokers on your own, while on others you can use the copy-trading function, which gives you the opportunity to earn some passive income. It is perfect for beginners since you can follow professional traders and just automatically mirror their moves. It will totally cover your experience gap and save you a lot of time if trading is not something you’d like to do round-the-clock.

NAGA Markets would be one of the best options if you’d like to do that and also looking for a broker that can provide you with advanced, but user-friendly trading tools and introduce you to the trading community at the same time. NAGA’s Autocopy is an innovative feature that lets you automatically copy leading traders on the platform and learn from their experience. 

Moreover, It offers a wide choice of trade instruments and educational bases to make trading more effective and secure. The last point is guaranteed by several reputable regulative bodies, those rules NAGA has to follow. 

Cryptocurrency trading in India

Is crypto trading legal in India? Or is it outlawed?

The matter is a little tricky when it comes to India, so let’s break it down.

From an outright ban on cryptocurrencies in 2016 to an upcoming Bill for regulation in 2021 — the Indian government’s stance on digital assets has changed considerably over the past few years.

While the older law sought to impose a complete ban on all crypto-related activities including mining, buying, holding, selling, and dealing, the new one will look to make a clear distinction when it comes to its often-used categorization as a currency.

Currently, there is no regulation or any ban on the use of cryptocurrencies in the country. India is considering a proposal to treat cryptocurrencies as a financial asset while safeguarding small investors, according to people familiar with the matter.

If you’re wondering how to buy cryptocurrency in India, first you should find an authorized exchange to do so. With regulated service providers, you can rest assured that your purchase is protected as it would be with any other financial product. One broker for that is AvaTrade. 

While most brokers prefer to avoid cryptocurrencies and others normally offer Bitcoin and Ethereum, AvaTrade goes the extra mile and provides you with the entire range of these digital assets!

In addition to the opposite spectrum presented by such safe-haven assets like bonds, cryptocurrencies offer an opportunity to diversify your portfolio with more volatile assets and higher risk-to-rewards potentials.

The best Forex brokers in India

Since the first step on your Forex trading path is to open a trading account with a broker, you may be wondering which are the best Forex brokers in the world that accept clients from India. In order to help you proceed faster, we have compiled a small list of the most respected Forex brokers which accept clients from India. 

Choose any of the brokers we mention in the review, as all of them are time-proven, regulators-verified companies that are the leading in terms of trading conditions and reliability, with millions of users all over the world.

XM Group in India

XM Group has more than 1000 financial instruments which can be traded on the MT4/MT5 platforms, including Forex pairs, equities, commodities, and other instruments with some of the most reliable and fastest order execution available.

To serve users from more than 190 countries for more than 10 years, XM has pursued regulation from the relevant financial authorities. Currently, the broker operates with licensing from multiple regulators. These institutions ensure that XM maintains complete liability for its customers and remains accountable to them. In addition, for any questions, the XM team provides customer support in more than 30 languages, including English and Hindi. 

AvaTrade in India

AvaTrade is an international broker that is regulated by six international and regional financial authorities, including ASIC, FCA, and CySEC. It offers a broad variety of tradable instruments including forex, stocks, commodities, cryptocurrencies, and indices, with industry-standard spreads, on a wide selection of trading platforms for both manual and automated trading, across a variety of device types. 

Also, it provides Copy Trading feature – your chance to earn some passive income just by automatically following the moves of more experienced traders. The combination of AvaTrade’s global reputation with tech-advanced mechanisms gives traders the security of knowing that their trades are in the safe hands of some of the best traders.

Additionally, AvaTrade states that accounts across all jurisdictions do have negative balance protection and also offers AvaProtect which allows the client to take out insurance on a trade. 

NAGA Markets in India

NAGA is a reliable broker from Germany with a great range of trading instruments and a very competitive, but friendly social trading environment. By registering, you benefit from over 950 markets, including ETFs, Forex, commodities, crypto CFDs, a wide range of professional tools, and educational materials for traders of any level.

Together with more than a million users, you can trade and invest, learn from them and automatically copy the best traders or become a trading pro yourself. As one, you’ll get a chance to earn extra income and a largely reduced commission. Or as a trading newbie, you can highly benefit from auto-copying the most successful traders in real-time: make money and learn at the same time.

By registering and confirming an account with several of the best brokers, you can not only personally compare trading platforms to find the most fitting one for yourself, but also maximize the benefits you receive! It will encourage you to continue exploring trading and increase your chances to earn some passive income. 

You can also manage risk by expanding your approach. For example, you can trade on some brokers on your own, while on others you can use the copy-trading function, which gives you the opportunity to get some passive income.

The choice of a trading strategy is yours, and we present a list of the best international Forex brokers in India, so you can trade with a reliable partner.