In response to the Press Note issued by the Government of India during May'1999, first state-of-the-art demutualised multi-commodity Exchange, National Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd. (NMCE) was promoted by commodity-relevant public institutions, viz., Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC), National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED), Gujarat Agro-Industries Corporation Limited (GAICL), Gujarat State Agricultural Marketing Board (GSAMB), National Institute of Agricultural Marketing (NIAM), and Neptune Overseas Limited (NOL). While various integral aspects of commodity economy, viz., warehousing, cooperatives, private and public sector marketing of agricultural commodities, research and training were adequately addressed in structuring the Exchange, finance was still a vital missing link. Punjab National Bank (PNB) took equity of the Exchange to establish that linkage.

Even today, NMCE is the only Exchange in India to have such investment and technical support from the commodity relevant institutions. These institutions are represented on the Board of Directors of the Exchange and also on various committees set up by the Exchange to ensure good corporate governance. Some of them have also lent their personnel to provide technical support to the Exchange management. The day-to-day operations of the Exchange are managed by the experienced and qualified professionals with impeccable integrity and expertise. None of them have any trading interest. The structure of NMCE is impossible to replicate in India.