Membership

The members and their authorized clerks alone can enter the trading floor and conduct buying and selling of securities. The eligibility criteria for membership of a stock exchange are given under Rule 8 of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Rules, 1957. The prospective member should satisfy the following conditions. He should:
1. have completed 21 years of age;
2. be a citizen of India;
3. not be adjudicated as a bankrupt or proved to be insolvent;
4. not be convicted of an offence involving fraud or dishonesty;
5. not be engaging in any other business or employment;
6. be sponsored by tow members, of five years standing as members;
7. have at least two years of experience as an apprentice, partner, authorized assistant, authorized clerk or remisier of a member;
8. buy share in the stock exchange; and
9. pay an entrance fee of Rs. 5000 and deposit Rs.20000 either in cash or in approved securities.

The members of the stock exchange may be classified in several clearly defined groups. When the operators in a stock exchange are classified on a functional basis, they include brokers, jobbers, remisiers, authorized clerks, taravaniwalas, the odd lot dealers, the badliwalas, and the arbitrageurs. In India, the stock exchange rules, by –laws and regulations do not prescribe any functional distinction between members. However, as a matter of fact, there is a fairly defined specialization under the main categories. They are briefly described below.