3.01: The origin of the stock market relates back to the year 1494, when the Amsterdam Stock Exchange was set up. In India it dates back to the 18th century, an era when the East India Company was a dominant Institution in India.

3.02: "The Bombay Stock Exchange" (BSE) was founded in the year 1875. "The Ahmedabad Shares and Stock Association" was formed in the year 1894. The Calcutta Stock Exchange Association was formed by about 150 brokers on 15th June 1908. In the year 1920, one stock exchange was established in Northern India and one in Madras called "The Madras Stock Exchange". "The Madras Stock Exchange Association Pvt. Ltd." was established in the year 1941. On 29th April 1959, it was reorganized as a company limited by guarantee under the name and style of "Madras Stock Exchange" (MSE). The Lahore Stock Exchange was formed in the year 1934. However in the year 1936 after the Punjab Stock Exchange Ltd. came into existence, the Lahore Stock Exchange merged with it. In Calcutta, a second Stock Exchange by name "The Bengal Share & Stock Exchange Ltd." was established in the year 1937 and likewise once again in the year 1938, Bombay also witnessed a rival Stock Exchange formed in the name of "Indian Stock Exchange Ltd." The U.P. Stock Exchange was formed in Kanpur and the Nagpur Stock Exchange Ltd. in Nagpur in the year 1940. The Hyderabad Stock Exchange Ltd. was incorporated in the year 1944. Two stock exchanges which came into being in Delhi by the name "The Delhi Stock & Share Brokers Association Ltd." and "The Delhi Stocks & Shares Exchange Association Ltd." were amalgamated into "The Delhi Stock Exchange Association Ltd." in the year 1947. Subsequently the Bangalore Stock Exchange was registered in the year 1957 and recognized in the year 1963. The third stock exchange in the state of Gujarat the "Vadodara Stock Exchange Ltd." was incorporated in 1990. The Over the Counter Exchange of India (OTCEI) broadly based on the lines of NASDAQ (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation) of the USA was promoted and approved on August 1989. The National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. was incorporated in November 1992.

3.03: Today there are 23 Stock Exchanges in India, including the 3 Stock Exchanges in Mumbai - Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), National Stock Exchange (NSE) and Over the Counter Exchange of India (OTCEI). Click for Map