India’s capital markets are undergoing a dramatic technological transformation, said Sundararaman Ramamurthy, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of BSE Ltd., speaking at the opening of the third Dubai FinTech Summit, which began today at Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai. Held under the patronage of Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and organised by the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the summit brings together over 8,000 attendees, 300 speakers from 100 countries, and more than 1,000 investors.
Ramamurthy detailed how the Bombay Stock Exchange has seen exponential growth in order-processing capacity, rising from 1 billion orders per day two years ago to 18 billion today. “At peak, we handle 2 million orders per second-this cannot happen without a robust technological backbone,” he said. The per-broker trading rate has also surged from 500 to 25,000 trades per second. BSE now operates a real-time, client-level, portfolio-based risk management system and a T+1 settlement cycle, introduced under his leadership in 2023.
He outlined three key areas where BSE applies technology: infrastructure development, regulatory oversight, and investor education. Artificial intelligence and large language models are already in use to process large volumes of regulatory filings, and targeted social media content is being deployed to raise investor awareness-videos that have collectively garnered over 100 million views. With 60-65% of India’s population in the working-age group and 30% under the age of 30, Ramamurthy emphasized the need to “catch them young” and encourage product suitability through mutual fund platforms before stepping into equities.
As India’s markets continue to integrate globally, Ramamurthy said distinct domestic practices, such as client-level settlements and transparent data sharing, must be preserved. However, areas such as product diversification and ease of execution stand to benefit from closer alignment with international standards. He acknowledged the need for a unified contract system to enable foreign institutional investors to secure the best price across multiple exchanges without specifying a trading venue. “We are working on this and expect implementation by the end of June,” he noted.
India’s capital markets already demonstrate high levels of transparency and participation. With over 11,000 registered foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) holding 18-19% of issued equity and a total market capitalisation of over $5 trillion, India is now the world’s seventh-largest market by value. In BSE’s own case, FPIs hold 14% of shares, and overall institutional holdings exceed 40%.
The Dubai FinTech Summit, held under the theme ‘FinTech for All’, showcases global trends in blockchain, AI, digital banking, regulatory compliance, and investment strategies. The Future Sustainability Forum is being incorporated into the event for the first time, and the FinTech World Cup is providing a platform for start-ups to pitch to investors and strategic partners.The two day summit will conclude on May 13th.