The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Wednesday said it would announce the launch of its proposed small and medium enterprise (SME) exchange within a fortnight. The exchange has already submitted its application with the capital market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India.

"Last week, we had made a presentation to the capital market regulator. We are completely geared up to provide an alternative platform to meet the fund-raising requirements of the SME segment, which will be made operational very soon," said Madhu Kannan, MD & CEO of BSE while addressing a function in Mumbai on Wednesday. He further added that the exchange will come out with detailed guidelines in another two to three weeks.

Apart from BSE, the National Stock Exchange too has sought the regulatory approval for launching a separate SME platform. The NSE has submitted its proposal to the market regulator and is ready with the necessary trading software, according to a senior exchange official.