Mumbai, India – The National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) is actively pursuing a strategy to diversify its revenue streams and reduce dependence on a few key products, according to its Managing Director and CEO, Ashishkumar Chauhan. In a recent exclusive interview, Chauhan outlined the exchange's focus on expanding into new market segments and introducing innovative financial instruments.
Chauhan emphasized that while weekly options currently account for a significant portion of NSE's revenue (around 42%), the exchange is committed to broadening its offerings. This strategic shift aligns with regulatory changes from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), which Chauhan stated the NSE is fully prepared to comply with.
New Products Driving Growth
A central pillar of NSE's diversification strategy is the introduction and expansion of new product lines. Chauhan highlighted several initiatives already underway or in the pipeline:
- Electronic Gold Receipts (EGRs): Described by Chauhan as a "transformational product," EGRs are already live and hold nearly the entire market share. He believes they could pave the way for numerous other innovative products.
- Electricity Futures: Launched last year, these futures have rapidly captured a dominant market share of 70-75%.
- Coal Spot Exchange: The NSE is collaborating with industry leaders to establish a coal spot exchange, with plans to introduce derivatives at a later stage.
- Bond Index Futures: Following an announcement by the Finance Minister in a previous Budget, bond index futures are also in development.
Reducing Reliance on Options
Chauhan noted that, despite initial expectations of a significant decline (50-60%) after SEBI tightened derivatives regulations (reducing weekly expiries), NSE's volumes and revenues saw a much smaller drop of around 3% in 2025-26. The remaining 58% of NSE's revenue comes from equities, equity futures, and monthly stock and index options, which are not subject to the same regulatory concerns as weekly expiries.
Beyond traditional trading products, the NSE is also seeing faster growth in newer revenue streams such as index revenues, market data services, and terminal services, although these currently represent a smaller portion of the overall business.
Chauhan expressed optimism that a potential upturn in equity markets, which have been largely sideways for the past two to three years, would further boost performance across NSE's existing segments.