The Bombay Stock Exchange has indicated that a separate trading platform for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) segment will be in place by September, a central government official said.

“BSE had said the trading platform will be in place by September and there will be no separate exchange and instead a sub-exchange concept had been mooted,” Union MSME Secretary, Mr Uday Kr Verma said on Friday at an interactive session on SMEs at Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) had permitted the BSE and the National Stock Exchange for the SME exchange. The MCX-SX which had also aspired for the SME exchange had been left out by SEBI.

Mr Verma said later the ministry would try to involve regional exchanges in launching SME exchanges as SME companies were region specific.

The West Bengal MSME Minister Mr Manas Bhunia was to chair the meeting but he could not make it to the event, the chamber officials said.