SSC
Which is the oldest stock exchange in India (and in Asia)?
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Answer: Option B — Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE)
Detailed Solution
The BSE is the oldest stock exchange in India and in Asia. Its origins go back to 1855, when a group of stockbrokers began meeting under a banyan tree in front of the Town Hall in Bombay (now Mumbai). As the number of brokers grew, they moved to different places and finally settled on Dalal Street in 1874. In 1875, they formed an association called "The Native Share and Stock Brokers' Association", which is regarded as the founding of the BSE.
The BSE was the first stock exchange in India to be recognised by the Government of India under the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956, in 1957. Its building on Dalal Street, the Phiroze Jeejeebhoy Towers, is an iconic landmark of Mumbai. The BSE moved from an open-outcry trading floor to electronic trading (BOLT, the BSE On-Line Trading system) in 1995.
The BSE's benchmark index is the S&P BSE SENSEX (Stock Exchange Sensitive Index), started in 1986 with a base year of 1978-79 (base value 100). It is made up of 30 large, actively traded companies from different sectors and is used as a barometer of the Indian stock market.
The National Stock Exchange (NSE), set up in 1992 and operational from 1994, was India's first fully electronic, screen-based stock exchange. Its benchmark index, the NIFTY 50, tracks 50 large companies. The NSE is now India's largest stock exchange by trading volume.
Stock exchanges in India are regulated by SEBI. Today, the BSE is a listed company in its own right.
Why not the other options?
- ✗The Calcutta Stock Exchange was set up in 1908.
- ✗The MCX is a commodity exchange set up in 2003.
- ✗Good to know
- ✗The NSE was set up in 1992, much later than the BSE.
Quick tip
Remember: BSE = oldest in Asia (brokers' association, 1875), Dalal Street, SENSEX (30 companies, base 1978-79); NSE = 1992, NIFTY 50 (50 companies).
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Financial Markets & Institutions — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Financial Markets & Institutions, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers India's financial institutions and markets: regulators such as SEBI, IRDAI and PFRDA, development banks such as NABARD, SIDBI and EXIM Bank, the money market and capital market, stock exchanges and indices, insurance, and microfinance and self-help groups. Questions usually ask what each regulator oversees, where institutions are headquartered, and what market terms mean (bull and bear markets, IPO, Sensex and Nifty). For example, NABARD supports agriculture and rural development, SIDBI supports small industries, and SEBI regulates the securities market. Practise the financial markets and institutions questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.