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Category: Social Stocks

  • Social Stock Exchange: A Game-Changer for CSR in 2026

    Social Stock Exchange: A Game-Changer for CSR in 2026

    India’s Social Stock Exchange (SSE) is not a new bourse like NSE or BSE. It is a dedicated segment within these exchanges where not‑for‑profit organisations (NPOs) can raise money for social projects through listed instruments. The idea: use the familiar machinery of the stock market to route philanthropic and CSR capital, while improving transparency, governance and accountability.

    What problem is it trying to solve?
    For years, companies mandated to spend on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) under Section 135 of the Companies Act have channelled funds via grants, trusts, foundations and government funds. But there was no regulated, market‑like platform that could:

    • Vet social enterprises in a standard way,
    • Disclose how money is being used, and
    • Let multiple funders participate in the same project with clear terms.

    SEBI’s SSE, operational since 2023, was built to fill this gap.

    How does it work?

    Eligible NPOs register on the SSE and issue Zero Coupon Zero Principal (ZCZP) instruments. These are not typical bonds:

    Zero coupon: Investors get no interest.

    Zero principal: There is no repayment of the principal amount.

    In effect, a ZCZP is a donation structured as a listed security. The money raised must be used for the NPO’s stated social projects, with disclosures on the exchange platform.

    What changed in 2026?
    The big shift came on May 27, 2026, when the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) amended the Companies (CSR Policy) Rules, 2014 and Schedule VII of the Companies Act. Two changes matter most:

    1. ZCZP on SSE is now an eligible CSR activity
    • A new item (xiii) was inserted into Schedule VII: “Subscription to zero coupon zero principal instruments on Social Stock Exchange.”

    2. A 10% cap and an exemption

    • Companies can now route up to 10% of their total CSR expenditure in a financial year into ZCZPs listed on SSE.
    • For this slice, they are exempt from conducting a separate impact assessment, which has been a major administrative burden for CSR teams.

    In parallel, SEBI eased some SSE norms in April 2026, including extending the NPO registration window and lowering the minimum subscription threshold, to make it easier for credible NPOs to come in and for issues to succeed.

    Why should companies and NGOs care?
    For companies, the SSE route offers:

    • A regulated channel to deploy part of CSR funds, with exchange‑style disclosures.
    • Lower compliance load for up to 10% of CSR spend, thanks to the impact‑assessment exemption.
    • The ability to co‑fund specific projects alongside other corporates through the same ZCZP issue.

    For NPOs/NGOs, it offers:

    • Access to a national investor base (including retail with demat accounts), not just a few large donors.
    • A structure that can improve credibility and trust, given SEBI’s oversight and disclosure norms.
    • A potential path to scale recurring social programmes with clearer funding visibility.

    Where is it headed?
    Despite the policy push, the government has not carried out any assessment on how much the ZCZP route will actually boost institutional CSR inflows, Parliament was told in August 2026. The key test now is adoption: whether CSR committees are comfortable routing part of their budgets through ZCZPs, and whether enough high‑quality NPO pipelines emerge to make the market meaningful.

    Early movers are already testing the model. In August 2026, DEVI Sansthan, an NPO working on foundational literacy, listed on the BSE SSE to mobilise resources for its programmes. Separately, a coalition led by ImpactScale Ventures, with support from NSE, SEBI’s advisory committee and US TIFA, announced a TB‑focused thematic raise on SSE, aiming to help 15+ TB NGOs register and 8–10 list projects to raise around Rs 50 crore via ZCZPs.

    The bottom line
    The Social Stock Exchange does not replace traditional CSR. It adds a regulated, market‑linked option for a slice of CSR money, with the promise of greater transparency and easier compliance for that portion. The 2026 amendments—especially the 10% cap and impact‑assessment exemption—are designed to nudge companies to try the route. Whether SSE becomes a meaningful channel for India’s CSR pool will depend on how quickly credible NPOs list, and how comfortable boards become with this new instrument

  • From pilots to policy: what DEVI Sansthan’s Ladakh MoU tells us about social finance

    From pilots to policy: what DEVI Sansthan’s Ladakh MoU tells us about social finance

    S Eldee

    The real test of India’s social sector is not how many pilot projects we can launch, but how many of them survive long enough to become policy. For years, the story has been familiar: a promising NGO runs a small, donor‑funded experiment in a few districts; evaluations look good; then the money runs out, the team shrinks, and the model remains a footnote in a PowerPoint.

    The recent trajectory of Lucknow‑based DEVI Sansthan — from a modest Zero Coupon Zero Principal (ZCZP) issue on the BSE Social Stock Exchange to a three‑year Memorandum of Understanding with the Ladakh administration — hints at a different path: one where social finance, if designed well, can help turn pilots into public programmes.

    DEVI’s journey began, in market terms, as a niche experiment. In June–July 2026, the organisation listed on the BSE Social Stock Exchange, raising about Rs 1.10 crore through ZCZP instruments priced at Rs 1 each, with a minimum ticket of just Rs 1,000. The pitch was simple: investors would not get interest or principal back; instead, their money would fund foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) programmes for tens of thousands of children in government schools, with impact tracked and reported under SEBI’s social exchange framework.

    For a sector used to CSR cheques and foundation grants, this was novel: a regulated, transparent, retail‑accessible channel for “human returns” rather than financial ones.

    What makes the Ladakh MoU, signed on 11 August 2026, significant is not just that a union territory chose an NGO partner, but that it chose one that had already tested its model in the market. Under the three‑year agreement, DEVI Sansthan will work with Ladakh’s School Education Department to strengthen FLN across the region, aligning with the national NIPUN Bharat mission’s goal that every child attain grade‑level reading and arithmetic by Class 3. In effect, capital raised through the Social Stock Exchange is being leveraged into a multi‑year, government‑backed scale‑up — exactly the transition that India’s education and social sectors desperately need.

    This sequence — SSE issue first, government MoU later — matters for three reasons.

    First, it shows that social stock exchanges can do more than raise money; they can de‑risk scale. When a government signs a multi‑year contract with an organisation that has already disclosed its finances, governance and impact metrics on a regulated platform, it reduces the information asymmetry that often stalls public procurement of social services. The SSE listing acts as a form of due diligence that is visible to citizens, donors and officials alike.

    Second, it begins to solve the pilot paradox. India does not lack successful education pilots; it lacks mechanisms to move them from “project mode” to “system mode”. By allowing NPOs to raise patient, no‑repayment capital for specific outcomes, and then letting governments layer on longer‑term contracts, the SSE framework can help convert proof‑of‑concept into proof‑of‑scale. DEVI’s Ladakh deal is still early, but it is a template: market‑tested model, transparent reporting, then public adoption.

    Third, it offers a new narrative for CSR and philanthropy. Instead of one‑off grants that vanish after a news cycle, corporate and individual investors can back organisations that are building towards government partnerships. The “exit” is not an IPO or acquisition, but a policy uptake — the moment when the state says: this works, we will fund it at scale. That is a far more durable form of impact than any annual report claim.

    Of course, caution is necessary. A single MoU does not prove a trend; Ladakh’s unique administrative structure may not replicate easily in larger, more complex states. There are also risks: over‑financialisation of the social sector, excessive focus on easily measurable metrics at the cost of deeper learning, and the possibility that only a few well‑advised NGOs can navigate SEBI’s framework while smaller, grassroots groups are left behind. The Social Stock Exchange must remain a tool for mission, not a badge for marketing.

    Yet, the direction is clear. If India is serious about fixing foundational learning, health, nutrition and livelihoods, it cannot rely on perpetual pilots funded by restless donors. It needs mechanisms that allow successful models to graduate into public systems with clarity on cost, quality and accountability. DEVI Sansthan’s path — from a Rs 1.10 crore ZCZP issue to a three‑year government partnership in Ladakh — is a small but telling sign that this graduation is possible.

    The question now is whether other states, departments and donors are watching closely enough to replicate it.

  • No assessment done on ZCZP instruments boosting CSR funds: Govt

    No assessment done on ZCZP instruments boosting CSR funds: Govt

    The government has not carried out any assessment on the extent to which the newly introduced “Subscription to zero coupon zero principal (ZCZP) instruments on Social Stock Exchange” is likely to boost the inflow of institutional capital into the social sector, Parliament was informed on Monday.

    In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Corporate Affairs Harsh Malhotra said, “No such assessment has been conducted by the ministry.”

    The Ministry of Corporate Affairs, through a notification dated May 27, 2026, widened the ambit of Schedule VII of the Companies Act, 2013, by introducing a new item — “Subscription to zero coupon zero principal instruments on Social Stock Exchange” — as an eligible Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activity.

    As per the amendment, a CSR-mandated company cannot subscribe to ZCZP instruments for more than 10 per cent of its total CSR expenditure for that financial year.

    Malhotra said the move is intended to ease compliance for companies while helping not-for-profit organisations raise funds for public welfare projects “in a transparent and regulated manner.”

    The ZCZP instrument, listed on the Social Stock Exchange, allows companies to channel CSR funds to eligible non-profits without expecting financial returns, aiming to formalise and bring greater transparency to social sector financing.

  • DEVI Sansthan to list on Social Stock Exchange to scale foundational learning

    DEVI Sansthan to list on Social Stock Exchange to scale foundational learning

    DEVI Sansthan (Dignity Education Vision International), a 33-year-old not-for-profit organisation focused on foundational literacy and numeracy, is set to make a landmark entry onto the Bombay Stock Exchange’s Social Stock Exchange (SSE), with its public issue scheduled to open on June 29, 2026.

    The Social Stock Exchange listing marks a significant milestone for the Ranchi-based organisation, positioning it among a small group of social enterprises to access transparent, impact-aligned public funding through India’s regulated capital markets framework.

    Funds raised through the issue will be channelled into foundational literacy and numeracy programmes, teacher training, learning outcome assessments, accelerated learning interventions, and school-based education models aimed at improving learning outcomes at scale across underserved communities.

    Founded in 1992 by educationist and former World Bank economist Dr. Sunita Gandhi — who also serves as Chief Academic Advisor of City Montessori School, recognised as the world’s largest school — DEVI Sansthan operates through its proprietary ALfA (Accelerating Learning for All) methodology. The model deploys peer-learning-based approaches to help children acquire foundational reading, writing, and arithmetic skills in a significantly compressed timeframe.

    “For decades, we have seen millions of children move through education systems without acquiring basic reading and arithmetic skills,” Gandhi, Founder and CEO of DEVI Sansthan said in a statement.

    “The Social Stock Exchange listing is an important step towards strengthening transparency, expanding collaborations, and taking foundational learning interventions to communities that need them the most.”

    Nixon Joseph, Group Executive Director of DEVI Sansthan and former President of SBI Foundation, said foundational literacy and numeracy represented one of the most critical challenges within the education ecosystem today.

    “The Social Stock Exchange listing reflects our commitment towards transparency, accountability, and long-term impact,” Joseph said. “It will help us strengthen our outreach, deepen collaborations, and expand access to quality foundational learning for underserved communities across geographies.”

    The organisation’s work currently spans foundational learning interventions, educator capacity-building programmes, learning outcome assessments, and large-scale literacy campaigns targeting children, youth, and adults across the Ranchi district. DEVI Sansthan collaborates with government agencies, schools, and private stakeholders to build what it describes as sustainable learning ecosystems at scale.

    The BSE Social Stock Exchange was established to connect social enterprises with mainstream capital markets investors seeking measurable social impact alongside financial accountability.

  • A market for good: why the ZCZP instrument could be CSR’s most important reform

    A market for good: why the ZCZP instrument could be CSR’s most important reform

    By Eldee

    For over a decade since the Companies Act of 2013 made Corporate Social Responsibility mandatory, India Inc has wrestled with the same uncomfortable truth: writing a cheque is easy; ensuring it actually changes lives is not. Project selection, implementation partners, monitoring mechanisms, third-party impact assessments — the compliance apparatus around CSR has grown so elaborate that the overhead sometimes rivals the impact. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs’ amendment of May 27, 2026, quietly addresses this problem. It deserves far more attention than it has received.

    The amendment permits companies to deploy up to 10 per cent of their CSR funds into Zero Coupon Zero Principal (ZCZP) instruments issued by eligible Not-for-Profit Organisations listed on the Social Stock Exchange (SSE). The instrument’s name is its entire architecture: no interest, no principal repayment. What a company invests is what a cause receives — in full, with no financial return expected and no capital clawed back at maturity. It is, in economic substance, a structured grant. But in regulatory form, it is a listed, exchange-monitored, disclosure-bound security. That distinction matters enormously.

    Why Companies Should Pay Attention

    India Inc’s annual CSR obligation now hovers around Rs 35,000 crore. A significant portion of that is spent well. But a meaningful share is lost to friction — to the labour of vetting NGOs, negotiating project scopes, commissioning assessments, and managing reputational exposure when a partner underdelivers. For mid-sized companies without dedicated CSR cells, this friction is particularly punishing.

    The ZCZP route offers a regulated alternative. Companies subscribing to SSE-listed instruments are exempt from independent impact assessments — a concession that reflects the exchange’s own disclosure architecture doing the heavy lifting. Due diligence is front-loaded at the listing stage, not replicated by every corporate subscriber. The investment counts toward mandatory CSR obligations. Governance is handled by a platform, not a project manager. For a finance director staring at an unspent CSR balance in the third quarter, this is not a small relief.

    Crucially, the mechanism does not displace the 90 per cent that continues to flow through direct project implementation. It supplements it. Companies retain their flagship programmes, their employee volunteering, their community partnerships. The ZCZP window adds optionality — a credible, market-based channel for funds that might otherwise be rushed out the door in the fourth quarter with insufficient diligence.

    Why NPOs Stand to Gain the Most

    The instrument’s more transformative potential lies on the other side of the transaction. India’s non-profit sector is vast, diverse, and chronically undercapitalised at scale. Organisations doing serious work in education, healthcare, livelihoods, and climate adaptation routinely spend more time fundraising than delivering. Donor cycles are unpredictable. Government grants arrive late and lapse on technicalities. Individual philanthropy, while growing, remains concentrated in a handful of large foundations.

    Corporate CSR, directed through the SSE, offers something different: predictable, programme-linked capital with a defined horizon — typically up to three years per instrument — allowing NPOs to plan, hire, and execute with a discipline that annual grant cycles rarely permit. The absence of repayment obligation removes the distortion that debt introduces into social sector organisations, which are not structured to generate financial surpluses. And listing on the SSE — which requires disclosure norms, due diligence, and outcome reporting — is itself an institutional upgrade. An NPO that has passed exchange scrutiny carries a signal of credibility that opens doors beyond the ZCZP window.

    The SSE’s Second Chance

    The Social Stock Exchange was conceived with ambition and launched with fanfare. Its early years have been, by most candid assessments, underwhelming. Liquidity has been thin. Corporate participation has been tentative. The ZCZP instrument has existed in the regulatory framework, but without the CSR linkage, the demand side was always going to be shallow.

    The MCA amendment changes the incentive structure. Companies now have a compliance-valid, governance-sound reason to engage with the SSE. If even five per cent of India Inc’s CSR spend — roughly Rs 1,750 crore annually — is channelled through the exchange over the next three years, it would transform the SSE from an interesting experiment into a functioning market. That, in turn, would attract more NPOs to list, more investors to participate, and more intermediaries to build the infrastructure that a mature social capital market requires.

    A Note of Caution

    None of this is automatic. The 10 per cent cap is deliberately conservative — a sensible calibration for a first iteration. The risk of NPOs gaming listing requirements to access corporate capital without genuine accountability is real, and the SSE’s supervisory capacity will be tested. The exemption from independent impact assessments, while administratively convenient, should not become a licence for outcome-blindness. Companies must resist the temptation to treat ZCZP subscriptions as a CSR box to check rather than a cause to support.

    The amendment’s logic, however, is sound. It meets companies where they are — seeking compliance efficiency — and nudges them toward a more transparent, outcome-linked model. It meets NPOs where they are — seeking capital at scale — and gives them a platform that demands accountability in return. It meets the SSE where it is — searching for relevance — and gives it a demand-side catalyst it has long lacked.

    Good policy does not need to be grand. Sometimes it simply removes a friction, aligns an incentive, and trusts the market to do the rest. This amendment is that kind of policy. Quiet, well-targeted, and overdue.

  • CSR Social Stock Exchange: India opens 10% investment window for firms

    CSR Social Stock Exchange: India opens 10% investment window for firms

    The corporate affairs ministry has opened a new funding channel for nonprofits, allowing companies to direct up to 10 per cent of their mandatory corporate social responsibility spending into zero coupon zero principal instruments listed on the Social Stock Exchange, in a move aimed at deepening transparency in social sector financing.

    The amendment, effective immediately, inserts the subscription to such instruments into Schedule VII of the Companies Act, 2013 — the schedule that governs permissible CSR activities for profit-making companies required to spend at least 2 per cent of their three-year average net profit annually on social causes.

    Under the revised CSR Policy Rules, 2014, definitions for both not-for-profit organisations and zero coupon zero principal instruments have been formally introduced for the first time, providing regulatory clarity to companies seeking to deploy funds through the Social Stock Exchange.

    Not-for-profit organisations will be able to issue these instruments through the Social Stock Exchange in accordance with regulations set by the Securities and Exchange Board of India, the ministry said in a statement on Friday.

    Unlike conventional bonds, zero coupon zero principal instruments carry no interest payments and no repayment of principal, functioning instead as a regulated grant or social investment vehicle designed to fund public welfare projects.

    “It helps in furtherance of a transparent and credible mode of funding CSR projects by companies and enables social enterprises to access a wider pool of capital,” said Anshul Jain, Partner Regulatory at PwC India.

    The 10 per cent cap on CSR Social Stock Exchange investments per financial year is intended to balance innovation with fiscal discipline, ensuring core CSR commitments remain intact while creating fresh pathways for social capital mobilisation.

    The Social Stock Exchange, established under SEBI oversight, is designed to bring market discipline and disclosure standards to social sector funding — a segment historically dominated by opaque grant-making and bilateral philanthropy.

  • SEBI Tightens Rules for Social Stock Exchange to Boost Transparency

    SEBI Tightens Rules for Social Stock Exchange to Boost Transparency

    Capital markets regulator SEBI introduced stricter regulations for the Social Stock Exchange (SSE) on September 19, 2025, aiming to enhance governance and transparency for not-for-profit organizations (NPOs) and social enterprises, according to a circular (SEBI/HO/CFD/CFD-PoD-1/P/CIR/2025/129).

    The updated framework mandates that NPOs registering with the SSE must be Indian trusts, societies, or Section 8 companies with a valid registration certificate held for at least 12 months. New annual disclosure requirements cover governance, finances, donor lists, and social impact, due by October 31 or the income tax return deadline, whichever is later.

    Social enterprises raising funds via the SSE must file an Annual Impact Report (AIR), verified by SEBI-registered Social Impact Assessors, covering at least 67% of program expenditure. SSEs can also enforce additional disclosure parameters to ensure compliance.

    The reforms aim to protect investors, ensure accountability, and align SSE operations with SEBI’s broader capital market regulations, such as the ICDR and LODR frameworks. By mandating independent impact assessments, SEBI seeks to drive measurable social outcomes and foster confidence in India’s growing social finance sector.

    “These changes strengthen the SSE ecosystem, ensuring funds serve genuine social purposes while maintaining regulatory oversight,” a SEBI spokesperson said.

    The rules reflect SEBI’s push to mainstream social investment while mitigating risks of fraud and enhancing credibility in the evolving social sector.

  • Social Stock Exchange gains traction, attracts diverse investors

    Social Stock Exchange gains traction, attracts diverse investors

    Notable examples include Bengaluru-based SGBS Unnati Foundation, Transform Rural India, Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement and three other organisations.

    India’s Social Stock Exchange (SSE) is gaining momentum as a platform for social enterprises and non-profit organizations (NPOs) to raise funds, attracting a growing pool of investors seeking both financial returns and social impact.

    Launched to promote inclusive growth and financial inclusion, the SSE has seen several successful listings and fund raisings.

    Notable examples include Bengaluru-based SGBS Unnati Foundation, which raised Rs 1.8 crore to train and employ government college graduates, and Transform Rural India, securing Rs 2 crore for skill development projects.

    “The SSE provides a structured way for investors to support social causes they care about,” market analyst Mahesh Kumar said. “It’s not just philanthropy; for-profit social enterprises offer potential financial returns, similar to impact investing.”

    Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement and three other organizations have collectively raised Rs 8 crore, focusing on education, health, and sustainable livelihoods.

    The SSE’s rigorous listing standards, requiring regular audited reports and independent verification of social impact claims, are attracting investors. “Transparency and accountability are key,” noted Megha Shah, an impact investor. “I can track the tangible outcomes of my investments.”

    Tax benefits recommended by the SSE committee are expected to further boost investor interest, although specific rules are yet to be defined.

    While the SSE doesn’t explicitly list top-performing stocks, its growing roster of organizations spans various sectors, reflecting India’s diverse social welfare needs.

  • Over 20 social ventures register on SSEs; wait for offer documents

    Over 20 social ventures register on SSEs; wait for offer documents

    At present, organisations are only able to register on the platform. The format for offer documents and fundraising is yet to be released. It will only be possible to start fundraising or see any outcomes on the platform once this is done.

    India’s unique experiment of a Social Stock Exchange (SSE) is gathering steam, as many not-for-profit and social organizations have shown interest in listing on the platform. So far, over 20 social ventures have expressed their interest in listing on the new platform with more to follow.

    At present, organisations are only able to register on the platform. The format for offer documents and fundraising is yet to be released. It will only be possible to start fundraising or see any outcomes on the platform once this is done.

    Currently, more than 20 different social organisations have registered under the SSE platform of both NSE and BSE exchanges. Here are the details:

    1. Development Management Foundation

    This organisation is listed on both NSE and BSE. It is an educational institution founded to create, strengthen and establish development management.

    2. Gramalaya Trust

    It operates in the field of water, sanitation, and hygiene in rural, urban, coastal and tribal areas. It is listed on NSE.

    3. Grey Sim Learning Foundation

    Listed on NSE, the Foundation provides vocational skills and products to increase the employability and productivity of the youth.

    4. Krushi Vikas Va Gramin Prashikshan Sanstha

    Listed on NSE, this organisation aims at the betterment of rural, semi-rural, and diversifying urban communities depending on agri and nonfarm-based activities for their livelihood.

    5. Lighthouse Communities Foundation

    The foundation, listed on BSE, enables livelihoods for all.

    6. Masoom Trust

    Listed on NSE, it empowers, strengthen and transform night schools to empower youth.

    7. Missing Link Trust

    It is listed on both NSE and BSE and engages with the public on the issue of sex trafficking and missing girl child.

    8. Mukti

    It is listed on NSE and helps the poor and distressed across the globe.

    9. Opportunity Foundation Trust

    It is listed on both NSE and BSE and works to help lift girl children out of poverty through education.

    10. People’s Rural Education Movement

    Listed on BSE, it is working for the development of Adivasi (indigenous), Dalit, Fisher folk and other marginalized communities of Odisha and neighbouring states of India.

    11. Possit Skill Organisation

    Listed on both NSE and BSE, it supports unemployed youth to harness their talent and develop their market-oriented skills.

    12. Ratna Nidhi Charitable Trust

    Listed on NSE, this trust looks at tackling the problems of poverty in Mumbai, especially among young children.

    13. Saath Charitable Trust

    Listed on BSE, it works with the deprived communities and empowers the socially marginalised by providing them livelihood services, and imparts skills.

    14. Score Livelihood Foundation

    Listed on NSE, it empowers communities with sustainable and inclusive livelihood options.

    16. SGBS Unnati Foundation

    Listed on both NSE and BSE, it works towards equipping underprivileged youths and providing employment.

    17. Supporting Association for Thematic and Holistic Initiatives (SATHI)

    Listed on BSE, it helps improving the lives of individuals, especially women and children.

    18. United Way of Delhi

    Listed on NSE, it helps individuals achieve their potential through education, financial stability, and access to health.

    19. United Way Mumbai

    Listed on NSE, it helps individuals achieve their potential through education, financial stability, and access to health.

    20. Voice Society

    Listed on NSE, it is a Voluntary Action Group of Academicians, Professionals and Volunteers who work to raise awareness amongst Indian consumers about their own Consumer Rights.

    The other social organisations listed on the stock exchanges include Vatsalya Trust, Samvedna Development Society, and Shri JagatBharti Education and Charitable Trust.

    An SSE is an electronic fundraising platform that allows an alternative fundraising option for social enterprises. Meanwhile, the listing process for SSEs works similarly to an initial public offering (IPO). The difference here is instead of allotted shares, participants will get Zero Coupon Zero Principal (ZCZP) instruments.

    At present, the social-development sector in India receives funding through multiple sources spanning corporate social responsibility (CSR), philanthropy, government funding and retail charity. An SSE would attempt to bring coherence across to diverse platforms with uniform frameworks of funding, utilisation, impact-creation, measurement, disclosures, and reporting.

    It may be noted that the BSE received a final approval from the regulator SEBI to launch SSE as a separate segment in December 2022, while NSE in February this year.

    This concept is still very new to India and was introduced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Union Budget speech for the financial year 2019-20. Globally, countries like Brazil, Canada, Jamaica, Portugal, South Africa, Singapore and the UK already have established SSEs.

  • NSE gets in-principal SEBI nod to set up social stock exchange

    NSE gets in-principal SEBI nod to set up social stock exchange

    The government thas already notified new security Zero Coupon Zero Principal (ZCZP) under the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956.

    The National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) received in-principle approval from the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to set up a Social Stock Exchange (SSE) as a separate segment of the NSE.

      “NSE has always played a pivotal role in capital formation for the country. We are working towards the launch of the Social Stock Exchange as a segment on NSE,” NSE Managing Director and CEO Ashish Kumar Chauhan said in a statement.

      “We believe this platform will immensely benefit the social enterprises contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals,” he added.

      The government has already notified new security, “Zero Coupon Zero Principal (ZCZP)”, under the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956.

      The new instrument ZCZP can be publicly or privately issued by Not for Profit (NPO) upon registering with the Social Stock Exchange segment of NSE to raise funds subject to fulfilment of eligibility criteria.

      The regulations have currently prescribed the minimum issue size of Rs 1 crore and minimum application size for subscriptions at Rs 2 lakhs. Subscription to the ZCZP would be like a philanthropic donation.

      In her 2019-20 Budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had proposed the creation of a Social Stock Exchange, under the regulatory ambit of the SEBI for listing social enterprises and voluntary organisations working for the realisation of a social welfare objective, so that they can raise capital as equity, debt or as units like a mutual fund.