NSE CEO: Debt Market Crucial for Nation's Growth

National Stock Exchange (NSE) Managing Director and CEO Ashish Chauhan has underscored the critical necessity of expanding India's corporate bond market to meet the nation's escalating growth and financing demands. He articulated that robust, liquid debt markets are indispensable partners to the country's well-established equity ecosystem, especially for funding long-term national objectives.

Chauhan emphasized that while banks primarily support working capital, bonds are vital for enduring nation-building initiatives, including infrastructure development, housing, and the energy transition. He pointed out that India's equity markets have achieved global recognition, with a market capitalization exceeding USD 5 trillion. The focus, he stated, must now shift to replicating this success in the debt markets.

Despite debt dominating capital raising primarily through private placements, Chauhan highlighted a market imbalance. He noted that public issuances of corporate bonds constituted a small fraction of total debt raised. To foster continuous price discovery, there is a need for increased listed public issuances, repeat issuers, and active secondary trading.