A nostalgic mood prevails at the Calcutta Stock Exchange (CSE), one of India’s oldest bourses, as it prepares to shut shop.
In the midst of its last celebrations of Kali Puja and Diwali on October 20, the stock exchange’s voluntary exit as a bourse nears completion after a decade-long battle with markets regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), which had suspended its trading operations in April, 2013, following regulatory non-compliance.
When years of efforts to revive operations turned futile, the stock exchange decided to back out of business and sought a voluntary exit from its stock exchange license.
“Approval has been obtained from the shareholders vide EGM dated April 25, 2025, relating to the exit of the stock exchange business. Accordingly, CSE submitted the exit application to SEBI, which has, in turn, appointed a valuation agency for undertaking the valuation of stock exchange which is in progress,” said CSE Chairman, Deepankar Bose.
SEBI has appointed Rajvanshi & Associate to undertake the valuation – the final step before approval.
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Once SEBI grants exit approval for the stock exchange business, CSE will function as a holding company, while its 100 per cent subsidiary, CSE Capital Markets Pvt Ltd (CCMPL), will continue broking as a member of NSE and BSE.
The regulator has also cleared the proposed sale of CSE’s three-acre property on EM Bypass to the Srijan Group for ₹253 crore, expected to be executed post-exit approval by SEBI.
Founded in 1908, the 117-year-old institution’s decline began after the ₹120-crore Ketan Parekh-linked scam triggered a payment crisis at the stock exchange, with several brokers defaulting on settlement obligations.
The episode shattered investor and regulator’s confidence, resulting in a prolonged erosion of trading activity. Once rivalling the Bombay Stock Exchange in trading volumes, the CSE was soon embroiled in contesting SEBI directives in courts.
In December 2024, CSE’s board resolved to withdraw its pending cases in the Calcutta High Court and the Supreme Court and apply for voluntary exit. The proposal was formally submitted to SEBI on February 18, and received shareholder approval on April 25 this year.
The exchange also launched a Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) for all employees, entailing a one-time payout of ₹20.95 crore which will have an annual savings of around ₹10 crore. All the employees opted for the scheme, with some retained on contract for compliance work.
Meanwhile, its remaining few members are preparing to bid a tearful goodbye to the stock exchange at its last festive celebration as an independent bourse.
“We began each day with a prayer to Goddess Lakshmi before trading till April 2013, when trading was suspended by the regulator.
This Diwali feels like a farewell to that legacy,” said veteran stock broker, Siddharth Thirani, recalling the bustle that once filled the Lyons Range floor till the 1990s.
In his FY25 annual report, Deepankar Bose, who is also CSE’s Public Interest Director, noted that the exchange “has played an important role in India’s capital markets”, with 1,749 listed companies and 650 registered trading members.
The report also disclosed that Bose received ₹5.9 lakh as director’s sitting fees during 2024-25.
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