In a first of its kind initiative, the National Stock Exchange, the country's largest bourse, has entered a strategic relationship with CNBC-TV18 for live telecast of trading and other trading related information direct from NSE.

Union finance minister P Chidambaram inaugurated the TV18 media centre at NSE on Monday morning.

In the last session of trade last Friday, 12 January, 2007, the Nifty and the Sensex closed at all time highs.

NSE accounts for 85 per cent of the trade on an average day both in the cash and the derivative segments.

The finance minister said that transparency is the hallmark of an efficient securities market and the reforms over the last decade and half have increased the level of transparency dramatically.

"Today, market participants are required to disclose all relevant information about themselves, their products and services and similarly they are expected to use all relevant information for making decisions. Over time the use of information by investors and intermediaries has increased. The accuracy of information has improved and the scope of information has broadened," he adds.

Ravi Narain, managing director, NSE, is rather pleased with the joint initiative between the NSE and CNBC-TV18. "We think this is another important step in bringing our markets into line with global best practices. We also believe this will help in furthering our goals to bring the market to the door step of investors."

Chidambaram said it is now time to focus efforts on making the information available instantaneously to the entire target audience domestic and overseas. "The joint initiative of NSE and TV-18 to set up a media centre to bring real time linkages between markets, corporates and the investing community, live from the NSE is a step in this direction."

"I am sure that this will bring the market closer to the investors and will improve the level of communication between the companies and their managements and their shareholders," he adds.

While this initiative will disseminate information about the companies and the market, Chidambaram urges the exchange to devise a mechanism to make available the historical market data they have in their possession as a bi-product.

He further adds, "This would help researchers, regulators and policy makers in informed policy making. It would also add to the revenue of the exchange. My good wishes to this very novel and path breaking initiative."