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CNBC TV 18

Nifty reaches 25,000: NSE CEO Ashish Chauhan discusses future growth, SEBI regulations, and trading hours

Chauhan celebrated the Nifty's progress, noting that it has delivered a remarkable 25x return over less than 30 years, with dividends potentially increasing this to 28,000 to 30,000 times the initial investment.

The Nifty index on Thursday achieved a significant milestone, reaching 25,000 points. In an exclusive interview, Ashish Chauhan, CEO of the National Stock Exchange (NSE), reflected on this achievement and shared insights on future prospects and regulatory developments.

He celebrated the Nifty's progress, noting that it has delivered a remarkable 25x return over less than 30 years, with dividends potentially increasing this to 28,000 to 30,000 times the initial investment.

"Every 5,000 points, we try to cut the cake just to celebrate the achievement, which is collective, because an index number is actually a conceptual number where a lot of companies' stocks are taken and one number is arrived at on a continuous basis. Nifty started at 1,000 on 1995, November 3. And so in literally less than 30 years it has given returns 25 times plus of course the dividend put together it could be close to 28,000 to 30,000," Chauhan said.

"So if you were putting ₹1,000 as investment, today it would be almost 28,000 to 30,000 and in your hand you will be having ₹25,000 and that's the way index is explained.

Looking ahead, he expressed optimism about continued growth. "Naturally if India continues to grow, which it has done over the last 30 years, then over the next 30 years, it will be an even better journey because India is growing much faster than what it used to do in the past and given the technological changes that are happening in the in the world probably India is in a better place and that's why we are also getting better valuation compared to rest of the world," Chauhan explained.

Addressing SEBI's recent consultation paper on Futures and Options (F&O), Chauhan acknowledged the regulator's concerns and ongoing actions, including an increase in Securities Transaction Tax (STT). "SEBI has identified issues within the F&O market and has proposed new regulations. We continuously provide feedback and will submit our recommendations, but the final decisions will rest with SEBI," he stated.

Regarding SEBI's new norm for one weekly expiry per exchange, Chauhan noted that it is within SEBI's regulations for exchanges to implement this. "It's up to each exchange as per the SEBI regulations. So I don't see any difference, as indices currently have different expiry dates," he said.

When asked about the potential extension of F&O trading hours, Chauhan clarified that no current proposals exist to extend index derivatives. "Currently, there are no proposals to extend the market hours," he said.

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