New Delhi, (IANS) : The stock exchanges – BSE and NSE – have initiated the process of delisting the shares of companies whose trading has been suspended for a long time, the Parliament was informed on Tuesday.

“The exchanges have initiated the process of delisting those companies which have been under suspension for a long duration and hence, have not been compliant with the listing requirements,” Minister of State for Finance Arjun Ram Meghwal told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply.

The equity shares of 1,021 companies on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and 132 companies on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) have been suspended from trading for a period of more than seven years, he said.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) grants powers to the recognised stock exchanges to compulsorily delist the equity shares of listed companies including those whose trading has remained suspended for more than six months.

Sebi states that the promoters of the compulsorily delisted company shall acquire shares from the public shareholders by paying them the fair value determined by the independent valuer, subject to their option of retaining their shares.