Chennai: Real time settlement is not going to be "too distant a dream" in the Indian stock market, SEBI chief G N Bajpai said on March 25.

"We have the technological capabilities for the same and moreover stock exchanges and depositories are already on realtime. Once the banking system also becomes real time, the necessary connectivity for real time settlement could be easily established," he said.

Bajpai was inaugurating the regional office as well as the Business Continuity and Disaster recovery site of the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

However, the necessary process management practices had to be evolved for the successful working of real time settlement, which, he said, would go a long way in the growth of the securities market in India.

Bajpai also called for bringing back the investor confidence which, he said, was at a low ebb. For this the quality of intermediation should improve to the level of helping the investor with all necessary information so that he could take "informed decisions."

PTI