Providing the retail investors easy and quick access to timely information is key for the development of a vibrant capital market in the country. Both Bombay Stock Exchange Ltd. and National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. have over the years undertaken various projects for enhancing investor protection in the country through training, certification programmes and other measures. BSE and NSE are now working on a common portal for dissemination of filings of corporates listed on the Indian stock markets and is expected to go live by January 1, 2007. Further, listed companies shall be encouraged to file electronically either through BSE or NSE filing system. Information filed electronically would be available on a common portal for dissemination. SEBI will mandate electronic filing by listed companies in a phased manner. The Exchanges shall in the intermittent period create sufficient awareness about e-filing among filers and about e-dissemination among investors and to upgrade their systems.
The common filing and dissemination portal shall come in to place by April 1, 2007. In common filing system, a company is required to file only once irrespective of whether it is listed on BSE or NSE. In this portal, information mandatorily required in terms of the listing agreement in respect of companies listed in BSE/ NSE, shall be available at one place.
Once operationalized, investors will be able to access at the website the latest filings by any corporate irrespective of the exchange on which the shares of the corporate are listed.