On the Jalan Committee Report

The recommendations of the Jalan Committee on the governance of stock exchanges have evoked a storm of protests, especially from sections of those involved in trading securities. This is not surprising, for the overarching stance of the committee is that exchanges are in the nature of "public institutions" with significant externalities for the economies they serve. This is because they have a dual purpose of providing trading services as well as carrying out regulatory functions of monitoring traders and listed companies. Thus they approximate in nature an "essential facility".