National Stock Exchange

The National Stock Exchange of India is a stock Exchange that is located in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The National Stock Exchange basically function in three market sections, that is, (CM) the Capital Market Section); F&Q (The Future and Options Market Sections) and WDM (Wholesale Debt Market Segment).  It is important place where the trading of shares, debt etc takes place.
It was in year 1992 that the National stock Exchange was for the first time incorporated in India. It was not regarded as a stock exchange at once. Rather, the national Stock exchange was incorporated as a tax paying company and had got the recognition of a stock exchange only in year 1993 the recognition was given under the provisions of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956.
The National Stock exchange is highly active in the field of market capitalization and thus aiming it the ninth largest stock exchange in the said field. Similarly, the trading of the stock exchange in equities and derivatives is so high that it has resulted in high turnovers and thus making it the largest stock exchange in India.
It is the stock exchange wherein there is the facility of electronic exchange offering investors. This facility is available in almost types of equitable transactions such as equities, debentures, etc. it is also the largest stock exchange if calculated in the terms of traded values.

Origin and History of the National Stock Exchange

The National Stock exchange was incorporated for the first time in November, 1992. The national stock exchange was not incorporated as the national stock exchange; rather, it had got the recognition of the recognized stock exchange in April, 1993. The National stock Exchange has increased its trading facilities in June 1994 when the WDM (Wholesale Debt Market Segment) was gone live. It is basically one of the three market segments in which the national stock Exchange works. In the same year, 1994 November, the Capital Market (CM) segment of the stock exchange goes live through VSAT.
The National Stock Exchange has become the first Clearing Corporation in India by the introduction of NSCCL in April 1995. In the same year, 1995 July, it has introduced the Investor protection fund which is a very important function introduced by the national Stock Exchange.
The National stock Exchange had grown with leaps and bounds and had shown tremendous growth mainly in all the fields and thus making it the largest stock exchange of India by October, 1995.
The concept of NSCCL was extended by the introduction of clearing and settlement with the help of NSCCL in year 1996. The National stock Exchange has introduced its Index for the first time in year April 1996. The index was known as the S&P CNX Nifty Index. In year June 1996, it has introduced the Settlement Guarantee Fund. The National Securities Depositor Fund was launched by the National Stock exchange in year 1996, November, and thus making it the first stock exchange who becomes the first depository in India.
Because of the efforts and introduction of new concept in the field of trading, the National stock Exchange has received the BEST IT USAGE award by the computer Society of India in the year November, 1996. It has also received an award for the TOP IT USER in the name of “Dataquest award” in year December, 1996.
The National stock exchange has also introduced another index in year December 1996 in the name of CNX Nifty Junior in year 1996.  It had again received an award for the BEST IT USAGE award by the computer Society of India in the year December, 1996. In May, 1998 it had launched its first website. Further in October 1999, it had launched the NSE.IT LTD. Further in year October, 2002, it had launched the Government securities index.
The growth of the National Stock Exchange has been tremendous in every field. It had introduced several programmes and has achieved various achievements and awards while working best in the field in which it is working. The efforts and hard work that is contributed by the National Stock exchange has been tremendous and thus making an important and unique stock exchange in India.

NSE & BSE:
The economic and capital market in a country cannot exist without a stock exchange. The Indian capital market is guided by the two pillars viz. Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange. All the major transactions take place here though there are about 20 other stock exchanges in different cities of India. Both these stock exchanges are situated in Bombay [presently Mumbai]. The Bombay stock exchange [BSE] is located at the Dalal Street and was established in the year 1875. The national stock exchange [NSE] is located at Bandra (east) and was founded in the year 1992.
The indices NIFTY for NSE and SENSEX for BSE are displayed in all major portals, newspapers and financial magazines.
BSE has BSE small cap, BSE Mid cap and BSE500 as indices to take care of the medium and small companies while India index services & Products Limited [IISL] was launched to have indices like S&P CNX Nifty, CNX Nifty Junior, CNX 100, S&P CNX 500 and CNX Mid cap.
BSE and NSE have changed the meaning of trading in the share market in India giving the investors the confidence and endeavour to invest and make big money. BSE replaced the open cry system with automated trading  BSE online trading [BOLT] system was established in the year 1995 and expanded to the other exchanges in 1997 by NSE there by giving the investors wider and easier trading options. Both the BSE and NSE have embraced the latest and sophisticated technology for smoother and better trading operations which has re affirmed the investor’s faith in the Indian stock market. There came a period when people were losing faith in the stock market because of the heavy rush, physical presence requirement, filling forms and the other paper work, lack of proper and timely news. But the computerisation and online trading has again changed the views of the people as trading became easier, simpler and faster.
Many time-consuming tasks have become simplified. The technological revolution that has been taking place has not only made trading easy in India but has changed the world markets too. One just requires an online trading account to operate in BSE or NSE and then they can do their trading business within the trading hours from anywhere in the world. All they would need is a computer with a broadband connection.  Earlier transactions used to take a long time but now everything is done in a few minutes. There are no forms to be filled, registers to be maintained as they are all done electronically. One can view the stock market live once they are online.
The national stock exchange has been in the forefront of online stock trading in the country. Soon the online trading spread to the other exchanges in the country. The development in information technology has attracted the investors to trade in any of the BSE and NSE stock. This development in technology has seen the NSE facilitate easy and convenient trading among the investors. Satellite communication technology has been used to connect with the major cities and towns all over India. The necessary software and hardware is being upgraded regularly to keep up with the trends and development. As of this day the NSE can handle more than 15 million trades every day in the stock market.
The NSE has made a name for itself in the global market too. This included signing of a memorandum of understanding with the Singapore stock exchange for development of a market for Indian products to be listed in the Singapore exchange. Many license agreements have been made between Indian companies and benchmark indexes of US.  Many foreign investors have been attracted by both BSE and NSE. There are many firsts to its credit by the Bombay stock exchange. It introduced free floating index, equity derivatives, launched its website Hindi and Gujarat. It obtained the 1st iso certification for having an exchange and starting exchange enabled internet trading platform The NSE too not to be left behind, has strongly made its name in the world market.

Grow, Transform and Sustain – The Mantra for Indian PSUs

India’s central public sector enterprises have undergone a cycle of transformation since the introduction of liberal economic policies a couple of decades ago.  Many believed that the public sector enterprises will simply wither away because of competition and their inefficiency; or they will be subsumed by the private sector because of the divestment programme.  However, as the experience has shown, the Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) continue to have a critical role to play in many businesses, especially in the strategic sectors.  Many CPSEs have proved their critics wrong by becoming extremely efficient and competitive.

In the strategic sectors of our economy, CPSEs are needed to ensure that the national and the social priorities are guaranteed – in terms of assured supply and affordable prices.  Infrastructure, energy, healthcare, defence are such areas where it cannot be left entirely to the markets.  In fact, the CPSEs are needed to create, balance and sustain the market in these sectors.  Even in the business and consumer services sector, the CPSEs are needed to ensure adequate and fair competition and stabilize the market.

However, at the same time, the CPSEs cannot take such role for granted for future also.  They cannot be allowed to become complacent.  Efficient and effective management is essential to ensure that the CPSEs continue to fulfill their obligations to the country.  Indian CPSEs need to be competitive at home against the global competitors and become multinationals themselves.  By striving to become multinationals, Indian CPSEs will be following the best management and operational benchmarks in the world, making it easier for them to be competitive at home and also in global arena.

Most of CPSEs are profitable despite operating with the constraints of public service priorities.  Of the 248 CPSEs, 220 are currently operational and of those 158 are profitable.  That is an impressive 70 per cent plus mark for a group that also includes a large number of legacy companies taken over as sick private sector units.  The operating efficiency of the CPSEs is also quite good in the prevailing dullness in the economy.  Last year, i.e. 2010-11, CPSEs delivered dividend of Rs. 35,681 crore.  Importantly, there has been significant improvement in the revenue and profitability levels of the CPSEs.  So, the CPSEs are making a substantial contribution to the country’s economic growth.  Even on the stockmarkets, the listed 45 odd CPSEs make nearly 20 per cent of the value of all listed Indian stocks.  Clearly, Indian public sector has the size and the efficiency to entertain ambitions of going global.  The CPSEs can also build and be parts of global supply chains.  In doing so, they can achieve an edge in technological and managerial innovation and help Indian economy grow at a faster rate.

Already, many Indian CPSEs are global giants.  Most of the petroleum PSEs are now multinationals and helping secure energy fuels for now and the future.  In the heavy engineering, infrastructure and project services too, Indian CPSEs have significant presence overseas.  Now, the power sector CPSEs are set to spread out in the world.  Given their experience of working in resource constrained and politically obstructive environment, Indian CPSEs are well equipped to do business in the other developing parts of the world, particularly Southeast Asia and Africa.

The Government has taken steps to help the Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) to improve their operations and competitiveness at home.  The Maharatana and Navaratna CPSEs have been allowed to invest in assets overseas and undertake joint ventures abroad.

The CPSEs are continuing to invest even in the prevailing slowdown.  Much of this money is being invested in the critical sectors such as energy and infrastructure.  This investment will have a multiplier effect on the economy.  Also, a significant part of the fresh investment this year is going into capacity building overseas.  This investment has been made possible by the CPSEs strong performance during the past few years, which have yielded adequate cash surpluses for investment.  The government has also allowed the CPSEs to use their cash surpluses to buy others’ stocks in order to aggregate their complementary strengths.

Steps have also been taken to improve efficiency of these investments.  Majority of the CPSEs have been signing MOUs with the Government which cover not only the financial results but also the outcomes in areas such as corporate governance, research and development and corporate social responsibility.  A vast majority of the MOU signing CPSEs have been meeting or exceeding their targets.  A comprehensive review of the MOU system is underway and revamped MOU system would be put in place shortly.

The Government has also been taking steps through, the Board for Reconstruction of Public Sector Enterprises (BRPSE) and Government approved revival packages to ensure that the performance of loss-making CPSEs could be improved.  We are also taking new initiatives such as enhancement of the age of superannuation from 58 to 60 years and grant of 1997 pay scales to the employees of sick and loss-making CPSEs as these steps can give them the incentive to make extra effort to get out of the red.

Even as the CPSEs move towards becoming globally competitive and going global, they still have to play their role as the catalysts of development and opportunity.  The CPSEs will continue to go to hinterlands to seed industries there and they will continue to invest in creating employment and economic opportunities for the deprived.  The government would like the CPSEs to integrate India’s rural economy into the mainstream.  However, it is upto the CPSEs themselves to continue to prove their relevance and they will survive only if the public sees them performing a useful function and only if they can compete with the best in the world at home and overseas.

Autonomy and more freedom are crucial for achieving this objective.  In fact freedom is not complete if it does not include freedom to commit mistakes and take risks.  Keeping this in view, it is the Government’s endeavour to enhance freedom and autonomy to CPSE management and an exercise in this direction has already begun.

Mutual Fund

A mutual fund is a trust that pools the saving of a number of investors who share a common financial goal. The money thus collected is then invested in capital market instruments such as shares, debentures and other securities. The income earned through these investments and the capital appreciation realized are shared by its unit holders in proportion to the number of units owned by them.

The mutual fund industry in India started in 1963 with the formation of Unit Trust of India, at the initiative of the Government of India and the Reserve Bank of India. The History of mutual fund in India can be broadly divided into four distinct phases:

First Phase (1964-87)

Unit Trust of India (UTI) was established in 1963 by an act of parliament, it was set up by the Reserve Bank of India and functioned under the regulatory and administrative control of the Reserve Bank of India. In 1978 UTI was de-linked from the RBI and the Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) took over the regulatory and administrative control in place of RBI. The first scheme launched by UTI was Unit Scheme 1964. At the end of 1988 Unit had 6700 crore of assets under management.

Second Phase (1987-93)

1987 marked the entry of non-UTI, public sector mutual fund setup by the public sector banks and life insurance corporation of India (LIC) and General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC). SBI mutual fund was the first non-UTI mutual fund established in June 1987 followed by CanBank Mutual Fund (December 1987), Punjab National Bank Mutual Fund (August 1989), Indian Bank Mutual Fund (Novemeber 1989), Bank of India (June 1990), Bank of Baroda Mutual Fund (October 1992). LIC established its Mutual Fund in June 1989 while GIC set up its Mutual Fund in December 1990.

Third Phase (1993-2003)

With the entry of private sector funds in 1993, a new era started in the Indian mutual fund industry, giving the Indian investors a wider choice of fund families. Also, 1993 was a year in which the first Mutual Fund regulation came into being, under which all mutual funds except UTI were to be registered and governed. The erstwhile Kothari Poneer (now Merged with Franklin Templeton) was the first private sector Mutual fund registered in July 1993.

The 1993 SEBI (Mutual Fund) Regulations were substituted by a more comprehensive and revised Mutual Fund Regulation in 1996. The industry now function under the SEBI (Mutual Fund) Regulation 1996.

Fourth Phase (Since February 2003)

In February 2003, following the repeal of the Unit Trust of India Act 1963 UTI was bifurcated into two separate entities. One is the specified undertaking of the Unit Trust of India with assets under management of 29,835 crore as at the end of Jan 2003, representing broadly the assets of US 64 scheme, assured return and certain other schemes. The specified undertaking of Unit Trust of India, functioning under an administrator and under the rules framed by Government of India and does not come under the purview of the Mutual Fund Regulations.

The second is the UTI Mutual Fund, sponsored by SBI, PNB, BoB and LIC. It is registered with SEBI and functions under the Mutual Fund Regulations. With the bifurcation of the erstwhile UTI had in Mach 2000 more than 76,000 crore of assets under management with the setting up of UTI Mutual Fund, conforming to the SEBI Mutual Fund Regulations, and with recent mergers taking place among the different private sector funds, the mutual fund industry has entered its current phase of consolidation and growth.

Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) of India

The oldest stock market in Asia, BSE stands for Bombay Stock Exchange and was initially known as "The Native Share and Shock Brokers Association". Incorporated in 1875, BSE became the first exchange in India to be certified by the administration. It attained a permanent authorization from the Indian Government in 1956 under Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956.

Over the year, the exchange company has played an essential part in hte expansion of Indian investment market. At present the association is functioning as incorporated body integrated under stipulations of Companies Act, 1956.

While BSE is now synonymous with Dalal Street, it was not always so. The first venues of the earliest stock brokers meetings in the 1850s were in rather natural environs - under banyan trees - in front of the Town Hall, where Horniaman Circle is now situated.

A decade later, the brokers moved their venue to another set of foliage, this time under banyan trees at the junction of Meadows Streets and what is now called Mahatma Gandhi Road.

As number of brokers increased, they had to shift from place to place, but they always overflowed to the streets. At last, in 1874, the brokers found a permanent place, and one that they could, quite literally, call their own, the new place was, aptly, called Dalal Street (Brokers Street).

In 2002, name "The Stock Exchange, Mumbai" was changed to Bombay Stock Exchange. Subsequently on August 19, 2005 the Exchange turned into a corporate entity from an association of persons (AoP). And renamed as Bombay Stock Exchange Limited.

BSE which had introduced the securities trading in India, replaced its own outcry system of trading in 1995, with the totally automated trading through the BSE Online Trading (BOLT) system. The BOLT network was expanded nationwide in 1997.

United States all set to become biggest supplier of Gold to India

India's lust for gold is legendary. Indian households hold over $950 billion of the yellow metal, revealed a recent research by Macquarie research. India imports most of its requirements: a quarter of all the gold sold globally is imported by us.

But in recent times, another country has matched India's hunger for gold. China, the largest producer of the precious metal, became a net importer in 2011, as domestic demand soared.

Sometime this year, China is expected to overtake India as the largest gold consumer. China, which is among the top producers of gold globally, has high entry barriers for private miners and also uses its production for building up national reserves.

Entry barriers for entrepreneurs are high in Russia as well. South Africa and Australia, both big producers of the yellow metal, are becoming unpopular due to, respectively, high taxation and high production costs.

Some European gold reserves, for example the Rosia Montana in Romania, the largest untapped reserves in Europe, are facing problems due to environmental regulations.

That begets the question: where will India get its gold from? The US, and other countries in the Americas. North America has always been significant in the global gold stakes.

Globally, there have been 99 significant gold discoveries (defined as a deposit containing at least 2 million oz of the metal) during 1997-2011.

The Americas hold the greatest share in these discoveries—not surprising given that the Americas have accounted for more than half the industry's discovery-oriented gold exploration spending during the period.

In 2010, the gold exploration budget rose to $5.4 billion, which was 59% more than in 2009. In 2011, mines in the US produced gold worth about $12 billion.

Gold mining companies are again flocking to the Americas. In Canada, miners are making huge new discoveries as well re-starting old mines that were deserted due to lack of funds. In 2011, production rose 21% year-on-year to Canada's highest output in five years. Mexico's large mineral belts have been equally attractive for gold miners.

North America Accounts for Lion's Share

With 2011 production coming in at an estimated 85 mt, Mexico has seen a 254% increase in output. In all, North America was responsible for 16% of mine production in 2011.

And with a year-on-year production growth of 9%, well above the global average, along with a bevy of ongoing junior exploration, North America will be pumping out gold from a lot of new mines.