Best Precious Metals Stocks in India

Precious metals are refined products made from scarce, naturally occurring metallic chemical elements, possessing high economic value and a wide range of industrial applications. Some of the common precious metals are Gold, Silver, platinum, and palladium, etc. Almost all of these precious metals, including Gold and Silver, have widespread industrial applications from electronics, photovoltaics (solar panels), EVs, REs, and medical applications to automotives. These are like another version of critical rare earth materials (REMs).

Invest in Indian Markets and Unlock Future Potential With 5paisa!

Open Account Now

Among these, Gold & Silver are synonymous with the world’s economic landscape as an alternative hard asset against paper currency, which can’t be printed or produced at will. Apart from the century-old appeal of inflation hedge safe-haven hard asset and a must reserve for any credible central bank in the world, Gold and even ‘poor’ Silver are symbols of India’s household wealth, security and cultural tradition, especially during weddings.

In 2025, most of these precious metals had given mind-blogging & unimaginable performance like a hot AI stock, NVIDIA of Wall Street. The unprecedented & unusual parabolic rally was mainly driven by the early 2022 Russia-Ukraine war, subsequent sanctions & seizure of USD-dominated assets by the US/West and resultant geopolitical fragmentations. Almost all other BRICS-aligned countries led by China, India and many others are now steadily diversifying FX assets from USD/UST to physical gold at their own custody. Moreover, under Trump 2.0, since Dec’24, Gold rallied almost 70% due to trade & tariff war policies and a pattern to use the global reserve currency status as a hegemony –geopolitical tool against not-so-friendly countries.

Moreover, in India, gold is regarded as an alternative to the never-ending devaluation of the Rupee (INR) and the resultant loss of buying power. Gold is also viewed as a traditional & cultural asset of last resort. Indian private gold holdings are the highest in the world. Silver also rallied parabolically in line with Gold in 2025, but now outperforming due to structural supply deficits & high demand early 2026, with a cumulative gain of almost 170%. Silver is also a big beneficiary of the AI buzz in electronics/PCB applications.

The epic parabolic rally of precious metals also boosted related Indian sectors & stocks; miners, refiners from higher realisations, while jewellers & financiers from elevated asset prices & collateral values despite subdued consumer demand for affordability issues.

As India is now gradually transitioning towards the world of REs & EVs and iPhone manufacturing (under China+1 global diversification strategy), the demand for silver and gold, in addition to the usual huge demand for marriages and festivals.

The precious metals ecosystem in India spans across:

• Mining and Production: Companies extracting silver (often as a by-product of zinc/lead) or related commodities.
• Refining and Exports: Firms processing gold/silver for domestic and global markets.
• Retail Jewellery: Organised players benefiting from rising consumer spending and premiumisation; organised jewellery retail continues gaining share from unorganised players, while gold loans remain resilient in rural/urban segments.
• Gold Loans: NBFCs leveraging pledged gold jewellery, with higher metal prices expanding loan books and margins.
• Trading and Government Entities: Entities involved in import/export, trading, or dispersion of precious metals — often with government equity — provide alternate exposure.

Overview of Key Stocks

Direct Mining/Production/Refining Plays

Hindustan Zinc Ltd (HZL):

• The company was incorporated in 1966 and is a Vedanta (VEDL) subsidiary (majority-owned); it’s headquartered in Udaipur, Rajasthan.
• HZL is India's largest and the world's 2nd largest integrated zinc producer, and is also the 3rd largest silver producer globally with annual capacity ~ 800 MT silver.
• It operates world-class underground mines (e.g., Rampura Agucha, the largest zinc mine), smelters, and has its own (captive) power plants (thermal, wind, solar).
• HZL has fully integrated operation-mining, beneficiation, smelting, and refining of zinc, lead, silver, and by-products like sulphuric acid.
• The company earns revenue from both domestic and export markets, with silver leading, accounting for almost 40% of operating profit amid huge industrial demand.
• HZL is self-sufficient in power with a focus on green energy (REs).
• It ensures cost efficiencies and has various judicious expansion plans.

Retail Jewellery Plays (Indirect Exposure)

Titan Company Ltd:

• Titan is a Tata Group flagship (established 1984), and is India's leading premium lifestyle retailer, with jewellery as its dominant segment, contributing almost 85% of operating revenue.
• The company operates over 1,000+ jewellery stores with iconic brands like Tanishq, Mia, Zoya, and CaratLane across India and globally.
• Titan is the largest organised jewellery retailer in India, with Gold, Silver, Diamond and studded premium products with strong brand appeal and in-house designing.
• The company commands a heavy market share in the premium jewellery segment for India’s festive & wedding market.
• Titan has a huge scale and is also expanding locally & globally with a focus of premium U.S. market.
• The company enjoys resilient consumer trust amid a robust quality certification process and vast latest designs.
• Titan’s omnichannel (online & offline integrations) presence ensures sustainable high growth in the gold & other jewellery segment.
• Titan excels due to design innovation, financing initiatives and digital expansions with a diversified portfolio.

Kalyan Jewellers India Ltd:

• The company was established in 1993 by T.S. Kalyanaraman and is headquartered in Thrissur, Kerala.
• Kalyan Jewellers is one of India's largest organised jewellery retailers with over 300 showrooms across India, the Middle East, and the US.
• It designs, manufactures, and sells gold, diamond, platinum, gemstone, and studded jewellery under brands like Mudhra, Anokhi, and Candere.
• The company has adopted a hyperlocal (highly localised & region specific) retail marketing strategy with pan-India/Middle East presence.
• Kalyan Jewelers is focusing on traditional/regional designs, wedding/aspirational segments in both offline & online modes.
• It earns revenue from bulk sales, premium products, marriage & festive demand
• The company is a major beneficiary of organised sector growth amid unorganised decline.
• It emphasises brand value, quality, customer trust, and targeted expansion of retail outlets in a localised manner
• Leading pan-India & Middle East player in mid-premium retail jewellery segment

Gold Loan NBFCs (Indirect benefits via Collateral Values)

Muthoot Finance Ltd:

• The company was established almost 100-years ago (~1930s) and is now India's largest gold loan provider; it also operates in other NBFC segments.
• It’s headquartered in Kochi, Kerala and operates over 5,000 branches all over India, with heavy concentration in the home state Kerala and also South India, where people hold more gold on average than the rest of India.
• It specialises in secured loans against household gold jewellery-employs a quick, collateral-based lending model, up to 75% of gold value, 1-1.5% monthly interest (12-18% annualised rate)
• The company earns major revenue from interest on gold loans, with diversification into housing, vehicle, business loans, and services.
• It benefits from gold price surges (higher collateral values/AUM), an extensive rural, semi-urban and urban reach
• The lender is also a major beneficiary of regulatory easing for small-ticket loans.
• The company is benefiting from surging gold prices and growing demand for such loans in the subprime segment for liquidity (cash flow)
• Muthoot has a robust collection mechanism
• India's largest gold loan provider
• Muthoot’s wide networks across rural and urban markets support disciplined credit growth & sustainable revenue

Manappuram Finance Ltd:

• Manappuram is a leading NBFC –initially founded in 1949 as a pawn broking and money lending operations in a modest scale in Thrissur (Kerala) and took its modern shape in the 1980s under the current V.P. Nandakumar
• The company is now India's 2nd largest gold loan provider with over 5,000 branches pan-India, with heavy concentrations in the home state Kerala and overall South India
• The company primarily offers loans against household gold jewellery -secured, short-term, with a quick disbursal model
• Manappuram is also diversified into non-gold finance, like in microfinance (MFI), vehicle & home loans, SME, and personal finance; overall non-gold segment constitutes almost 45% of the portfolio.
• It earns revenue primarily from interest & fees.
• The company also pioneers in innovations like online gold loans and the related ecosystem
• Manappuram targets mass-market inclusion in rural & semi-urban areas, balancing gold volatility with broader lending growth and a resilient collection mechanism.

Conclusion

The affinity of precious metals, especially Gold and Silver (‘the poor man’s gold’), is deeply rooted in almost all Indians, led by comparatively well-off Southern states. Most of the Indians (~85%) trust Gold much more than INR (local currency unit), stock & mutual funds. However, skyrocketing prices have also dampened consumer demand significantly in 2026 amid affordability issues. But after a record rally in 2025 and expected less hawkish U.S. trade & tariff policy coupled with a high potential Ukraine war ceasefire by February-March ’26, the Gold price may correct/consolidate within a range, positive for Gold retailers, although negative to some extent for gold refiners & financiers. But as the mid-to-long-term trajectory of Gold is positive, any corrections or volatility in Gold prices may also be a wonderful opportunity to enter quality stocks at reasonable prices.