February 09, 2014

Press Release No. 1

NSE creates awareness among Bengaluru investors through Investor Week and Investothon

FEBRUARY 9, Bengaluru: India’s leading bourse, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) organized an investor run or Investothon for the first time in Bengaluru to engage with investors and member brokers in India’s Garden City. The run aims to encourage best practices in investing and promote a healthy financial market. It is a symbolic run for India, for its economy, and most importantly for its citizens who are building and living the India story every day.

Market participants, investors, member brokers, youth, students and IT professionals turned up in large numbers for the first Investothon in Bengaluru. The run was held at the RBANMS School Ground, on St. John’s Road, Sivanchetti Garden, near the picturesque Ulsoor Lake in the heart of the city. The three main races were a competitive 4.5 kilometer run called the “Nifty Run”, a three kilometer run called the “Bull Run” and a non-competitive 4.5 kilometer run called the “Power Run”.

Earlier in the week, several awareness programmes were conducted with employees of IT companies, MBA institutes, the Council of Financial Planners, the Karnataka Association of Mutual Fund Advisors and the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce.

Since inception, NSE has made rigorous effort to reach out to people in various cities and empower them with information on market products, benefits of investing and how to invest safely. This week the focus has been on Bengaluru, the second fastest growing metropolis in India and a major economic hub. Bengaluru is home to 35 per cent of India’s IT professionals and contributes significantly to IT exports, making it an ideal destination to launch these financial literacy initiatives.

NSE’s Chief Business development Mr. Ravi Varanasi said, “All these initiatives in Bengaluru will not only empower investors with knowledge of the financial market, but also encourage them to participate in the market and contribute to the India growth story.”

NSE had started the investor run in 2011, to boost investor confidence and bring together India's biggest and more revered wealth creators on a common platform.

Since 2011, 25 investor runs have been held in many cities, including the metros, and cities like Pune, Bhubaneshwar, Chennai, Kochi, Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Indore and Vadodara. More than 35,000 people have participated in this movement and today’s run in Bengaluru also saw large crowds.

NSE was set up two decades ago and investor protection has been accorded the highest priority in this period. Currently NSE runs 11 Investor service centres in India, including one at Bengaluru, for grievance redressal and to handle arbitration cases on investor complaints. Before the ISC centre was opened at Bengaluru, residents had to file their complaints at the Chennai office. With the ISC centre in the city, investors are able to get their grievances resolved expeditiously and cost effectively.

Earlier in the week, senior officials from the exchange held intensive engagement programmes with leading IT companies and MBA colleges including M.S.Ramaiah Institute of Management, Don Bosco Institute of Bio-Sciences & Management Studies and Sambhram Academy of Management Studies. The focus in these sessions was on educating people on their rights and obligations in the market, the difference between investment and savings, and making them aware about the risk-return relationship.