India’s leading stockbrokers—Zerodha, Groww, Angel One, and Upstox—have received regulatory approval from the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) to offer international and US stock investing through GIFT City, Moneycontrol reported.
The move marks a major expansion of global investing access for Indian retail investors.
The development comes amid rising global market enthusiasm, particularly following the SpaceX IPO, which triggered a broader $4 trillion AI-driven investment wave.
Additional high-profile listings, including those from Anthropic and OpenAI, are also expected later this year, further boosting investor interest in international markets.
Raise Securities, the parent company of Dhan, had already launched US stock investing recently, intensifying competition in the cross-border investing space.
According to the report, the rollout for the top brokers is expected to take around two to three months, as firms complete technology integration, testing, and compliance requirements.
IFSCA, which regulates financial services in GIFT City, has been facilitating this ecosystem expansion.
In August, GIFT City introduced the Global Access Provider (GAP) framework, allowing investors a structured and lower-cost route to invest abroad, including zero withdrawal charges when repatriating funds back to India.
Among the brokers, Zerodha and Upstox will operate as broker-dealers, while Groww and Angel One will function as Global Access Providers (GAP).
To enable overseas trading, Zerodha and Upstox will route transactions through international clearing firms such as ViewTrade International, Interactive Brokers, and Alpaca Securities.
Only ViewTrade currently holds GAP approval, while others are expected to join later as their products go live.
These firms also maintain deeper partnerships with US brokerage platforms like Charles Schwab and Robinhood to facilitate global trading access.
Tax rules remain applicable for Indian investors, including 20% TCS on investments above ₹10 lakh and capital gains taxation depending on holding periods—short-term gains taxed at income slab rates and long-term gains at 12.5% after 24 months.
International investing has grown rapidly in India, driven by exposure to global themes such as AI, semiconductors, EVs, and space technology, along with strong returns from Nasdaq and a weakening rupee.
