SPREADING THE EQUITY CULT

The Indian stock market features among the leading ones globally but much needs to be done to improve the country's equity investment culture. Getting the basics right, along with having a broader bouquet of products, could well do the trick 

- BY ASHISH RUKHAIYAR

A decade is a long time. Especially when seen in the light of changes that a sector or segment might see. And here we are envisioning what the Indian stock markets might look like in the next two and a half decades. A tall ask one may say.

However, there are ways to prepare some kind of a crystal ball and use it to peep into the future of India’s stock markets. To begin with, there is a unanimous view amongst market participants that our stock market will be vastly different in 2047 than what it is today. Even in today’s times, our markets are well advanced than many leading ones globally, with some of the best practices already available.

But whether it is about the depth of the markets or the tech tools available for trading or even the products that investors can dabble in, it is perennially a work in progress as the last many decades have proved.

The Indian stock markets have come a long way from the trading ring era when brokers had to shout and use hand gestures in the iconic trading ring at the BSE—which happens to be Asia’s oldest stock exchange—to buy or sell shares.

A technological revolution has ensured that one can trade in shares while sitting conveniently at home, or for that matter, anywhere, as long as there is a smartphone available with data connectivity.

All the tools that an investor needs to decide whether to buy or sell a particular security is today available on the smartphone by way of the trading apps that are offered by all the leading broking firms.