[Last updated: 1 January 2024, unless otherwise noted]

Currently there are seven stock exchanges in India recognized by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), India's securities markets regulator. Of these, two stock exchanges have nationwide terminals in India, namely, the National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE) and the BSE Limited (BSE, and, together with NSE, the Stock Exchanges). The applicable law, rules, regulations, guidelines relating to listing of securities on both the NSE and the BSE are substantially similar and are administered by the SEBI.

The BSE and NSE offer trading primarily in equity, debt instruments, exchange traded funds and derivative products of equities, interest rate and currencies. Commodity trading activity in India is dominated by the Multi Commodity Exchange of India Limited (MCX) and the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange Limited (NCDEX).

This summary is related to the "equity cash" segment only.

The "equity cash" segment for trading in equity shares of companies corresponds to the "main market" in exchanges elsewhere in the world. A "small and medium enterprise" segment was introduced by the NSE and the BSE on 31 August 2012 and 13 March 2012, respectively, to facilitate listing and trading of shares of small and medium enterprises, and is akin to the "alternate investment markets" elsewhere in the world.

The BSE is one of the oldest stock exchanges in the world, having been established in 1875. It is the first stock exchange in India to have obtained permanent recognition on 31 August 1957 from the Government of India under the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956 (SCRA) while the NSE began operations in 1994 as India's first screen-based electronic trading platform.

Indian law does not make any fundamental distinction between primary and secondary listings, and a minimum public shareholding requirement of 25% is uniformly applied to all domestic listed companies.

As of 31 March 2023, the aggregate market capitalization on the NSE was US$3.08 trillion, as compared to 31 March 2022 when it was US$3.14 trillion. The aggregate market capitalization on the BSE was US$3.10 trillion as of 31 March 2023, as compared to 31 March 2022 when it was US$3.17 trillion.

The total number of companies listed on the NSE as of 31 March 2023 was 2,138, as compared to 31 March 2022 when 1,968 companies were listed. The total number of companies listed on the BSE as of 31 March 2023 was 5,433, as compared to 31 March 2022 when 5,350 companies were listed. The Stock Exchanges are not identified with any particular type of industry as being a specialized platform for listing of shares of companies in such industry. The SEBI governs listing and trading of shares on the Indian stock exchanges. The SEBI has been conferred with powers under the SEBI Act, 1992, and it administers the provisions of the SCRA, with regulation-making powers under both legislations. The SEBI has been mandated by the Indian Parliament to protect the interests of investors in the securities market and ensuring the orderly development of the securities market.