Kamal Ghorui
The National Stock Exchange (NSE) has set up an investor awareness pavilion at the 49th International Kolkata Book Fair, stepping up its outreach efforts to promote financial literacy and informed investing among the public.The pavilion, which opened on January 22, will remain operational for 14 days at Boimela Prangan in Bidhannagar, NSE said in a statement, PTI reported.As part of its annual investor education initiative, the exchange aims to familiarise visitors with the functioning of the securities market through interactive displays, one-on-one engagements, investor awareness workshops and a grievance redressal helpdesk. The pavilion also features gamified learning tools such as the ‘Wheel of Financial Freedom’ and ‘Every Move Matters’, along with online financial quizzes and fraud identification exercises.The initiative comes amid steady growth in retail investor participation from West Bengal. As of December 2025, the state had 73.5 lakh registered investors, accounting for 5.9% of NSE’s total investor base and ranking fourth nationally. During the last calendar year, West Bengal added 9.9 lakh new investors, contributing 6.3% of total new registrations across the country.Fundraising activity from the state has also remained robust. In 2025, five West Bengal-based companies listed on the NSE mainboard, collectively raising Rs 4,507 crore, while 13 companies debuted on the SME platform, mobilising Rs 591 crore, according to NSE data.Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has indicated that the NSE is expected to receive its no-objection certificate (NOC) for its long-awaited IPO. The exchange has earlier said it would pursue the listing after addressing regulatory and governance-related requirements.
