Forward Markets Commission (FMC) headquartered at Mumbai, is a regulatory authority which is overseen by the Ministry of Finance, Govt. of India.

It is a statutory body set up in 1953 under the Forward Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1952. "The Act provides that the Commission shall consist of not less than two but not exceeding four members appointed by the Central Government out of them being nominated by the Central Government to be the Chairman thereof. Currently Commission comprises three members among whom Shri Ramesh Abhishek, IAS is the Chairman, Dr. M. Mathisekaran, IES and Shri Nagendraa Parakh are the Members of the Commission."

The functions of the Forward Markets Commission are as follows:

To keep forward markets under observation and to take action in relation to them, as it may consider necessary, in exercise of the powers assigned to it by or under the Act. To collect and whenever the Commission thinks it necessary, to publish information regarding the trading conditions in respect of goods to which any of the provisions of the act is made applicable, including information regarding supply, demand and prices, and to submit to the Central Government, periodical reports on the working of forward markets relating to such goods.

To make recommendations generally with a view to improving the organization and working of forward markets. To undertake the inspection of the accounts and other documents of any recognized association or registered association or any member of such association whenever it considers it necessary. To advise the Central Government in respect of the recognition or the withdrawal of recognition from any association or in respect of any other matter arising out of the administration of the Forward Contracts (Regulation) Act 1952.

A commodity market is a market that trades in primary rather than manufactured products. Soft commodities are agricultural products such as wheat, coffee, cocoa and sugar. Hard commodities are mined, such as (gold, rubber and oil). Investors access about 50 major commodity markets worldwide with purely financial transactions increasingly outnumbering physical trades in which goods are delivered. Futures contracts are the oldest way of investing in commodities. Futures are secured by physical assets. Commodity markets can include physical trading and derivatives trading using spot prices, forwards, futures, and options on futures. Farmers have used a simple form of derivative trading in the commodity market for centuries for price risk management.

A financial derivative is a financial instrument whose value is derived from a commodity termed an underlier. Derivatives are either exchange-traded or over-the-counter (OTC). An increasing number of derivatives are traded via clearing houses some with Central Counterparty Clearing, which provide clearing and settlement services on a futures exchange, as well as offexchange in the OTC market. Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) began to feature commodities in 2003. Gold ETFs are based on "electronic gold" that does not entail the ownership of physical bullion, with its added costs of insurance and storage in repositories such as the London bullion market.

A commodity is bought or sold on the condition of its value in the future. A commodity, such as gold, is bought now at an agreed upon price in the hopes that the same commodity will be worth more in the future. Because of the volatility of the commodities market, many brokerage firms impose a minimum $10,000.00 initial deposit, though there is no legal requirement. Commodities are then traded at a fee in much the same way as company stocks, buying at the going rate and selling higher than before.

Futures contracts are standardized forward contracts that are transacted through an exchange. In futures contracts the buyer and the seller stipulate product, grade, quantity and location and leaving price as the only variable. Agricultural futures contracts are the oldest, in use in the United States for more than 170 years. Modern futures agreements, began in Chicago in the 1840s.

A forward contract is an agreement between two parties to exchange at some fixed future date a given quantity of a commodity for a price defined when the contract is finalized. The fixed price is known as the forward price. Such forward contracts began as a way of reducing pricing risk in food and agricultural product markets, because farmers knew what price they would receive for their output. Forward contracts for example, were used for rice in seventeenth century Japan.

A Swaps is a derivative in which counterparties exchange the cash flows of one party's financial instrument for those of the other party's financial instrument. They were introduced in the 1970s.

National Spot Exchange is a Commodities exchange in India, and is a joint venture of Financial Technologies (India) Ltd (FTIL) and National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED). National Spot Exchange commenced its live trading operations in different commodities on Wednesday, 15 October 2008. It began trading in pre-certified cotton bales for Mumbai delivery and imported gold and silver bars for Ahmedabad delivery immediately, and has since added a number of commodities. National Spot Exchange's stated mission is to develop a common Indian market by setting up a nation-wide electronic spot market and providing state of art trading, delivery, and settlement facilities in various commodities. This exchange is now in the middle of a controversy due to a major commodity scam and all the trades have been stopped.

Single day trading contracts. Intra-day trading with settlement of obligation on net basis. All positions outstanding at end of the day resulting into compulsory delivery. Demat delivery facility available. Fungibility of delivery between National Spot Exchange and MCX with common ICIN nos. Loan facility against pledge of demat / warehouse receipt. Cash futures arbitrage opportunity.

A carbon credit is a generic term for any tradable certificate or permit representing the right to emit one tonne of carbon dioxide or the mass of another greenhouse gas. There are also many companies that sell carbon credits to commercial and individual customers who are interested in lowering their carbon footprint on a voluntary basis. These carbon off setters purchase the credits from an investment fund or a carbon development company that has aggregated the credits from individual projects. Buyers and sellers can also use an exchange platform to trade, such as the Carbon Trade Exchange, which is like a stock exchange for carbon credits.

The quality of the credits is based in part on the validation process and sophistication of the fund or development company that acted as the sponsor to the carbon project. Carbon credits are mostly purchased by governments & corporations who have a legal or moral duty to reduce their carbon footprint. A growing number of individuals are also purchasing sufficient personal carbon credits to claim a carbon neutral lifestyle.

Although these organizations could implement change in their home country by sponsoring emission reduction projects locally, the economic benefits of deploying an equivalent emissions reduction scheme in the developing world for a fraction of the cost is what drives the international trade in carbon offsets.