India’s small and medium enterprises (SME) listing platform, the BSE SME platform, has crossed the milestone of 600 listings, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) said on Tuesday.

Overall money raised by these companies since their inception stands at Rs 10,652 crore, with an overall market capitalisation of Rs 1,84,574 crore, according to the exchange.

"Not only has the platform crossed the milestone, but it has grown in strength from strength in recent years, raising more money with higher issue sizes," the BSE said.

In the period since January 2023 to date, the average issue size for SME IPOs on the platform has gone up to Rs 32 crore, versus Rs 11 crore in the period from March 13, 2012, to December 31, 2022.

Further, the funds raised to date have gone up to Rs 6,109 crore in the period since January 2023 to date, versus Rs 4,544 crore in the period March 13, 2012, to December 31, 2022, the BSE stated.

These bigger and bolder moves by the SMEs on the platform are also getting reinforced by their movement to the mainboard, with nearly 1/3rd of the overall companies making that transition, the exchange said.

The SMEs listed on the platform also represent the economic opportunity present across the country.

SMEs listed on the BSE SME platform have a pan-India presence as well as representation of various industries and segments of the country, making it a holistic picture of the economic growth of the country.

"With over 7 crore SMEs, 30 per cent share in GDP, 44 per cent share in exports and nearly 60 per cent share in employment, MSMES presents an unparalleled economic opportunity to achieve Viksit Bharat by 2047," BSE Ltd MD and CEO Sundararaman Ramamurthy said.

According to the BSE, to aid the ecosystem, the BSE SME platform recently launched a generative artificial intelligence (AI) tool to vet SME IPO documents before they can be formally filed with the exchange.

Not only does this system improve the validation process of the document filing, but it also improves the efficacy and timelines in the listing process.

"Our steady and consistent growth, along with the technological appendages that are being developed, demonstrates the overall resolve of the exchange and platform to accelerate the ambition of budding entrepreneurs," BSE's Head of Listing and SME Platform, Radha Kirthivasan, said.