Do you still believe that the history of commodity derivatives in India is very young? If so, you are wrong. The history of futures trading commodities in the country goes back to the period after the American Civil War.

In fact, a cotton futures exchange was started in Bombay (now Mumbai) in 1875. It was just a decade after the establishment of the Chicago Board of Trade and only five years after the creation of the New York Cotton Exchange.

So, go through the timeline below to know how commodity futures began in India.

• 1875 Cotton futures start
• 1900 Oilseed futures start
• 1920 Gold futures start
• 1939 Cotton options prohibited
• 1943 Oilseed, food grain, spices, sugar forwards prohibited
• 1952 Forward Contracts Regulation Act
• Prohibits all commodity options
• Prohibits cash settlement of forward contracts
• 1960s Forwards in primary and essential commodities prohibited
• 2000 BSE and NSE list index futures
• 2001 BSE & NSE list index options, stock options and stock futures
• 2002 NMCE opens as a National Commodity Exchange
• 2003 MCX & NCDEX open as National Commodity Exchanges