Democratizing Capital Markets: The NSE Way

Government of the people, by the people, and for the people is the famous dictum of former US President Abraham Lincoln. People are fundamental to the very functioning of democracy.

- SUDARSHAN RAMABADRAN

Government of the people, by the people, and for the people is the famous dictum of former US President Abraham Lincoln. People are fundamental to the very functioning of democracy. This statement paints the syncretic relationship that the government has with the people or is expected to have for functional democracy. Borrowing Lincoln's words, today's capital markets are truly beginning to embody the very same phenomenon—that is, they are of the people, by the people, and for the people—underpinned by trust and transparency.

Retail investors in tier B and tier C cities are continuing to show trust in India's entrepreneurs. Demutualization of stock exchanges has truly enabled this phenomenon of democratizing capital markets in the true sense. Demutualization (separating it from broker-led to shareholder-led) also led to the very creation of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) after the infamous Harshad Mehta Scam.

Comprehending capital markets can be complex, and as a result, people could tend to stay away from the ecosystem. But in today's India, there are myriad ways in which India's leading stock exchange, NSE, is democratizing the capital market ecosystem to make it inclusive, diverse, and deep. At the heart of NSE is the 'NSE Bull and the People of India' statue. When artist Arturo Di Modica sculpted the 'Charging Bull Statue' at New York, he said he designed it to 'inspire confidence and remind people of the resilience needed to push through tough economic times'. This does not mean that having a bull representing a stock exchange is fully a Western idea; it is as much Indian. The idea behind the NSE Bull and People of India statue is to highlight the democratic spirit of the capital markets.