Calcutta Stock Exchange Unlisted Shares

Company Overview

CSE launched its screen-based trading system, C-STAR, on 26 February 1997. As per its FY25 annual report, SEBI suspended its operations from 3 April 2013. Its core activities today are listing-related services, trading-member services and investor services.

As of 31 March 2025, CSE had 1,749 listed companies and around 650 registered trading members. During FY25, it approved the voluntary delisting of 62 companies and received no applications for direct listing.

The group has two wholly owned subsidiaries. CSE Capital Markets Pvt. Ltd. (CCMPL) is a depository participant with both NSDL and CDSL. Lyons Range Securities Clearing Corporation Ltd. (LRSCCL) is the clearing corporation entity and remains non-operational.

Challenges in Calcutta Stock Exchanges & Business

The following are the key challenges faced by the company:

• Suspended trading operations: Trading on CSE's platform has been halted since April 2013, and its clearing subsidiary is non-operational. A Deloitte viability study commissioned by the board indicated breakeven only after about nine years of operations.
• Regulatory dependence: The Calcutta High Court gave CSE time in February and August 2024 to meet clearing corporation and net worth requirements, but these were not fulfilled. The exit application is still pending with SEBI. To resume operations, CSE must comply with the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956 and the SECC Regulations, 2018.
• Narrow income base and competition: Income comes mainly from listing fees and interest income, and FY25 ended in a loss after a one-time VRS provision. The listed-company base is shrinking, and many brokers moved their business to NSE and BSE after 2013.
• Legacy receivables and litigation: About ₹94.20 crore is recoverable from members who defaulted in 2000-01. Recovery suits for about ₹93.11 crore are sub judice, and recoverability cannot be ascertained. An identical amount received from the Settlement Guarantee Fund is carried as a liability.

Financial Review of Calcutta Stock Exchange

This review is based on the audited FY 2024-25 annual report (standalone) and the unaudited results for the half-year ended 30 September 2025, both published on CSE's website.

• FY25 (year ended 31 March 2025). Total income was ₹26.05 crore, against ₹26.38 crore in FY24. CSE made a one-time provision of ₹20.95 crore for a Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) to cut manpower. The loss before tax and before contributions to the Settlement Guarantee Fund (SGF) and Investors' Service Fund (ISF) was ₹14.10 crore, against a profit of ₹8.63 crore in FY24. The loss after tax and after contributions was ₹21.87 crore, against a profit of ₹0.59 crore in FY24. The accumulated deficit carried forward was ₹23.99 crore, and no dividend was proposed. Management stated that the VRS will save about ₹10 crore a year in employee costs.
• H1 FY26 (half-year ended 30 September 2025, unaudited, reviewed by Ray & Ray). Revenue from operations was ₹1.91 crore and other income was ₹6.67 crore. Profit before tax was ₹4.29 crore and profit after tax ₹4.23 crore. After contributions of ₹3.28 crore to specific funds, net profit was ₹0.95 crore.
• Subsidiaries (FY25). CCMPL reported a turnover of ₹74.77 lakh and a profit after tax of ₹8.51 lakh. LRSCCL reported a profit after tax of ₹3.07 lakh, mainly from investment income.
• Land sub-lease. CSE selected Srijan Infrapromoters LLP as the highest bidder for a 3-acre sub-lease at EM Bypass at ₹253 crore. SEBI gave its no-objection on 15 December 2025, and shareholders' approval was sought at the EGM of 16 January 2026. The proceeds are to sit in an account with a lien in favour of SEBI. They may be used for any shortfall in liabilities arising from an exit, but only after CSE's own resources are exhausted. The Economic Times, as reported by Outlook Money, says the sale was completed earlier in 2026 and that CSE's net worth is understood to exceed ₹300 crore, with a large part of its funds held in escrow.

Recent Developments (September 2026)

• On 22 June 2026, West Bengal Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta backed CSE's revival in the state budget speech, citing better access to capital for Eastern India, lower listing and trading costs, and jobs.
• On 1 July 2026, CSE asked SEBI to hold its exit application. In a Rajya Sabha reply of 11 August 2026, the Minister of State for Finance said SEBI has taken no decision and has received the valuation agency's report, though some information it sought from CSE is still awaited. SEBI also said CSE has not submitted any formal revival proposal.
• Media reports say CSE is preparing a revival with a new trading platform and a disaster recovery facility, which would require formally withdrawing its exit application.
• On 10 September 2026, CSE published a notice on extending the time for listed companies to avail a 99% waiver of SOP fines and related relaxations for revocation.

Quick Summary

The Calcutta Stock Exchange is a historic Kolkata-based bourse, registered in 1923, whose own trading platform has been suspended since April 2013. It earns income from listing fees and interest, and FY25 ended in a loss because of a one-time VRS provision. The half-year to September 2025 was profitable. It holds ₹253 crore of land sub-lease proceeds under a SEBI lien, and the West Bengal Government has backed a revival. However, the exit application is still pending with SEBI; no formal revival proposal has been filed, and the shares are considered illiquid. These remain the key factors for investors to monitor.

Click here to visit the official website of Calcutta Stock Exchange.