He said this in a written statement while tabling the Bill in the Lok Sabha for amending Securities Contract (Regulation) Act, which will allow for demutualisation and corporatisation of stock exchanges.

The Centre had in October promulgated the Securities Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2004 to speed up the reforms relating to the securities market, following which the Securities and Exchange Board of India issued guidelines to stock exchanges.

Among the two major bourses, National Stock Exchange has been corporatised and work is on to have a corporate set-up at the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The Bill limits the organisational form of a stock exchange to a corporate entity. It lays down the time period within which the shares of the stock exchange shall be disinvested by stockbrokers under the scheme of corporatisation and demutualisation.

The Bill also gives Sebi the power to regulate the manner in which 51 per cent of the equity share capital of every stock exchange is held by the public within 12 months.

Based on feedback, the provisions relating to non-attachment of investment assets have been removed. This has been done so that brokers do not pass off their assets as client assets and thus frustrate any attachment proceedings.

To provide for flexibility in delisting of securities by bourses, the Bill provides that delisting in the rules instead of specifying it in the act itself.