RAS question
The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) is the oldest stock exchange in:
Correct answer: (C) Asia.
The Bombay Stock Exchange is the oldest stock exchange in Asia.
Explanation
BSE is not merely India's oldest exchange; SEBI's official address at the BSE 150 event calls it the oldest stock exchange in Asia. Brokers began informal share and stock transactions under a banyan tree in Bombay, now Mumbai, and these gatherings were institutionalised in 1875 as the Native Share and Stock Brokers' Association, later recognised as the Bombay Stock Exchange. The regional scale matters because BSE's status is Asian, not just Indian or South Asian. BSE's benchmark index is the 30-company SENSEX, while NSE, established in 1992, is associated with the NIFTY 50.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) South Asia only is too narrow because SEBI describes BSE as the oldest stock exchange in all of Asia.
- (B) India only understates the fact: BSE is the oldest exchange at the Asian level, not merely within India.
- (D) The world overstates BSE's position because the London and New York stock exchanges are older.
Concept
The Indian Economy concept is capital-market institutions and benchmark indices. BSE, NSE, SENSEX and NIFTY are standard static-economy facts that also connect to current financial-market news.