Heritage

The oldest stock exchange in Asia (established in 1875) and the first in the country to be granted permanent recognition under the Securities Contract Regulation Act, 1956, Bombay Stock Exchange Limited (BSE) has had an interesting rise to prominence over the past 133 years.
While BSE is now synonymous with Dalal Street, it was not always so. The first venues of the earliest stock broker meetings in the 1850s were in rather natural environs - under banyan trees - in front of the Town Hall, where Horniman Circle is now situated. A decade later, the brokers moved their venue to another set of foliage, this time under banyan trees at the junction of Meadows Street and what is now called Mahatma Gandhi Road. As the number of brokers increased, they had to shift from place to place, but they always overflowed to the streets. At last, in 1874, the brokers found a permanent place, and one that they could, quite literally, call their own. The new place was, aptly, called Dalal Street ( Brokers' Street).
In 2002, the name "The Stock Exchange, Mumbai" was changed to Bombay Stock Exchange. Subsequently on August 19, 2005, the exchange turned into a corporate entity from an Association of Persons (AoP) and renamed as Bombay Stock Exchange Limited.
BSE, which had introduced securities trading in India, replaced its open outcry system of trading in 1995, with the totally automated trading through the BSE Online trading (BOLT) system. The BOLT network was expanded nationwide in 1997.Prominent Position

The journey of BSE is as eventful and interesting as the history of India's securities market. In fact, as India's biggest bourse, in terms of listed companies and market capitalisation, BSE has played a pioneering role in the development of the Indian securities market. It is surely BSE's pride that almost every leading corporate in India has sourced BSE's services in capital raising and is listed with BSE.

Even in terms of an orderly growth, much before the actual legislations were enacted, BSE had formulated a comprehensive set of Rules and Regulations for the securities market.. It had also laid down best practices which were adopted subsequently by 23 stock exchanges which were set up after India gained its independence.
BSE, as a brand, has been and is synonymous with the capital market in India. Its SENSEX is the benchmark equity index that reflects the health of the Indian economy.Several Firsts
At par with the international standards, BSE has in fact been a pioneer in several areas. It has several firsts to its credit even in an intensely competitive environment.

First in India to introduce Equity Derivatives
First in India to launch a Free Float Index
First in India to launch US$ version of BSE SENSEX
First in India to launch Exchange Enabled Internet Trading Platform
First in India to obtain ISO certification for a stock exchange
'BSE On-Line Trading System’ (BOLT) has been awarded the globally recognised the Information Security Management System standard BS7799-2:2002.
First to have an exclusive facility for financial training
First in India in the financial services sector to launch its website in Hindi and Gujarati
Shifted from Open Outcry to Electronic Trading within just 50 days
First bell-ringing ceremony in the history of the Indian capital markets (listing ceremony of Bharti Televentures Ltd.on February 18,2002)Investor Education

An equally important accomplishment of BSE is its nationwide investor awareness campaign - "Safe Investing in the Stock Market" - under which awareness campaigns and dissemination of information through print and electronic medium is undertaken across the country. BSE also actively promotes the securities market awareness campaign of the Securities and Exchange Board of India..