By Gabriel Ameh
An international delegation of journalists has experienced a piece of financial history after being invited to ring the market-closing bell at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in Mumbai, India.
The symbolic ceremony marked the conclusion of the journalists’ familiarisation visit to the 151-year-old stock exchange, one of India’s most prominent financial institutions.
The delegation was hosted at BSE’s historic headquarters by its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Sundararaman Ramamurthy, who led discussions on the evolution of India’s capital markets and the transformation of the exchange over the decades.
During the briefing, Ramamurthy traced BSE’s history from its early beginnings under a banyan tree to its emergence as a major global exchange.
The journalists were also taken through the historic trading hall, where brokers once relied on open-outcry trading, using hand signals and shouted bids to execute transactions before the transition to electronic trading.
Ramamurthy explained how technology has transformed India’s financial markets, with trading now conducted electronically and increasingly accessible through smartphones.
He also highlighted the expansion of investor participation, modern settlement systems and the growing use of technology to promote transparency and investor protection.
Inside India’s changing capital market
The international journalists were briefed on BSE’s role in capital formation and India’s wider economic development.
Discussions also focused on the country’s growing presence in global derivatives and options trading, reflecting the increasing sophistication and reach of India’s financial markets.
The visit provided the media delegation with an opportunity to see how a financial institution with more than a century and a half of history has adapted to technological and economic changes.
The closing-bell ceremony offered the journalists a firsthand experience of one of the most recognisable traditions associated with stock exchanges around the world.
The familiarisation visit was part of efforts to deepen international journalists’ understanding of India’s financial sector, capital markets and the evolution of the Bombay Stock Exchange.
From its humble beginnings under a banyan tree to a technology-driven marketplace, the BSE’s history reflects the broader transformation of India’s financial system.
