With 51 per cent of the GDP coming in from knowledge-based industry, using these new initiatives OTCEI wants to emerge as the stock market of choice for information technology, pharma, bio-tech and media & services where intellectual capital assumes greater significance than physical capital assets.

These new initiatives come close on the heels of a move last month by the OTCEI to form a subsidiary which would seek membership on the NSE, enabling its members gain access as sub-brokers to the latters order book.

With this, the OTCEI wishes to reactivate its brokers in the capital market. This subsidiary will take up membership on the NSE within the next three months. According to Joseph Bosco, managing director of the OTCEI, "The unlisted securities market will be the ideal launch pad to complement the IPO market in the country, since companies that do not have a track record can still access the stock market to raise these funds ". He also envisages that the segment would become the mechanism through which capital market regulators in India could introduce corporate governance standards, such as better disclosure requirements and greater information from promoters and their activities even prior to a IPO.

Qualified participants in the unlisted segment would have to have a net worth of Rs.2.5 crore. By definition, scheduled banks, venture capital funds, private equity funds of mutual funds, UTI, DFIs, state level institutions created by an act of parliament and companies, whether in manufacturing or service activities and high networth individuals could be qualified participants.