“Post-2008, we have learnt that no one is too big to fail, which means that markets need supervision and robust systems as much as they need innovation and new products,” said Chitra Ramakrishna, MD & CEO, National Stock Exchange.

Speaking at the valedictory address of the fourth India Finance Conference at the Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore (IIM-B), she stressed technology must lower the cost of doing business and build resilience in risk management systems.

Faster dispute resolution

Agreeing that regulations may not always prevent losses but will certainly help in faster dispute resolution and quicker distressed asset handling, she said the regulatory framework should be able to help markets provide new products and innovation while preventing inappropriate action.

Describing technology’s role in providing information and penetration to retail investors as ‘game-changing’, Ramakrishna said: “Technology can add breadth and depth to markets, lower the cost of doing business and build resilience in risk management systems.” While stating that it has been a good story for two decades for the NSE in India, she pointed out that there was still some distance to be covered.

“We must grow retail savings in equity markets, we must grow the number of corporates that we serve, we must provide a platform for SMEs to raise capital and we must develop a diverse set of instruments that allow investors to invest and issuers to raise money. Liquidity, breadth and depth in our equity market are work in progress,” she said.

“Markets in evolution offer tremendous opportunities, but the opportunity could pass us by if we fail to architect our market based on felt needs,” she cautioned.

The NSE, over the next few years, she said, would increase its investment in technology and focus on working towards removing artificial arbitrages between issuers and products.

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