Learn about the milestones that shaped the financial landscape of India. Filter through historic moments, market records, and interesting regulations.
The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) was established in 1875, making it the oldest stock exchange in Asia.
BSE started under a banyan tree in Mumbai's Horniman Circle, where five stockbrokers gathered to deal in shares.
BSE's original name was "The Native Share & Stock Brokers' Association", reflecting its local brokerage origins.
The 1992 securities scam exposed by Sucheta Dalal led directly to the establishment of SEBI as a powerful statutory regulator.
The National Stock Exchange (NSE) was promoted by leading financial institutions and incorporated in 1992 to bring transparency.
NSE pioneered electronic screen-based trading in India in 1994, which completely replaced the traditional floor-trading "ring".
The word "Sensex" was coined by analyst Deepak Mohoni in 1989. It is a portmanteau of "Sensitive" and "Index".
The base year for the BSE Sensex is 1978-79, with an original base value set at 100 index points.
The Nifty 50 index was launched by NSE in April 1996 with a base year of 1995 and a base value of 1,000.
India began transitioning from physical paper share certificates to electronic ledger balances (dematerialisation) in 1996.
National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) was the first depository in India, registered by SEBI in August 1996.
Central Depository Services Limited (CDSL) was founded in 1999 as the second depository, promoted by BSE.
MRF (Madras Rubber Factory) is historically the most expensive single share in India, trading over ₹1,50,000 per share in 2024.
The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) is itself a publicly-listed corporation, trading on its rival exchange, the NSE.
Normal equity stock trading timings in India are from 9:15 AM to 3:30 PM, Monday through Friday.
The 15-minute Pre-Open session (9:00 AM to 9:15 AM) was introduced in 2010 to discover stable opening prices and curb volatility.
Muhurat Trading is a special 1-hour trading session held on Diwali evening, signifying auspicious wealth building.
Before futures and options, India used the "Badla" system to carry forward trades, which was banned by SEBI in 2001.
Derivative trading in India officially kicked off in June 2000, when NSE launched Index Futures based on Nifty 50.
On March 23, 2020, Nifty suffered a massive single-day crash of 12.98% due to pandemic fears, triggering circuit breakers.
Market-wide circuit breakers halt equity trading across India if the index drops by 10%, 15%, or 20% from the previous close.
Individual stock circuits can be set at 2%, 5%, 10%, or 20% to prevent extreme manipulation or price runs.
A massive bronze statue of a charging bull (created by Bhagwan Rampure) stands outside Phiroze Jeejeebhoy Towers (BSE).
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) was the first Indian software firm to cross the $100 billion valuation milestone in 2018.
The IPO of the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) in 2022 is the largest IPO in India, raising over ₹21,000 crores.
The first Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) in India was Nifty BEeS, launched in December 2001 to track Nifty performance.
Sensex and Nifty components are rebalanced semi-annually to reflect current economic representation.
Sensex and Nifty use the free-float market capitalization weighting method, excluding locked promoter shares.
SEBI classifies individual investor bids up to ₹2 Lakhs in initial public offerings (IPOs) as retail applications.
India shifted to the T+1 settlement cycle in early 2023, settling trades faster than most major Western markets.
UTI (Unit Trust of India) was established in 1963 by an Act of Parliament to encourage small savings in mutual funds.
Kothari Pioneer Mutual Fund was the first private mutual fund to launch in India, starting operations in 1993.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were first allowed to register and invest in the Indian secondary markets in 1992.
Every stock listed on the BSE is allocated a unique 6-digit numeric scrip code (e.g. Reliance Industries is 500325).
ISIN (International Securities Identification Number) is a global 12-character alphanumeric code for security identification.
Algorithmic trading was approved by SEBI in 2008 and currently drives more than 50% of the daily market turnovers.
Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) was established in 2003, facilitating commodity derivative trades in India.
BSE SME and NSE Emerge platforms were launched in 2012 to help Small and Medium Enterprises raise listing capital.
India's total stock market cap crossed 100% of its GDP for the first time in 2021, showing massive financial sector growth.
Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) is historically the heavy-weight stock with the largest weightage in Nifty 50.
Reliance Industries was also the first company to dematerialize its shares electronically with NSDL in 1996.
ASBA (Applications Supported by Blocked Amount) blocks IPO bid amounts in a bank account until share allotment is finalised.
A share's Face Value (nominal value like ₹1, ₹2, ₹5, ₹10) is set in accounting and does not equal its trading price.
Companies split stocks to lower the unit share price, making it highly liquid and affordable for small retail investors.
A corporate share buyback retires outstanding equity shares, which naturally boosts Earnings Per Share (EPS).
The very first electronic Demat account in India was opened by NSDL for a retail investor on October 25, 1996.
Demat accounts in India grew from 4 crore in 2020 to cross a monumental milestone of 15 crore accounts by mid-2024.
The Government of India is the single largest equity shareholder in the country through its extensive public sector undertakings (PSUs).
Discount brokers revolutionized retail trade in India by introducing zero brokerage on delivery stock trades in the 2010s.
BSE and NSE remain closed on approximately 14-16 national public holidays a year, apart from Saturdays and Sundays.