New Delhi, Jan 9 (IANS): The market capitalisation of companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange's small and medium enterprise (SME) platform touched the Rs 50,000 crore mark for the first time.

At present, over 350 companies are listed on the BSE SME platform.

On Friday's closing, the total market valuation of these firms stood at Rs 50,538 crore.

"It is truly a memorable moment in our history and one we are very proud of. Small and medium enterprises are the backbone of the Indian economy and the rapid growth in scale we are observing currently is a bright indication of progress of our great nation," said Ajay Thakur, Head - BSE SME and Startups.

"This milestone is also a testament to the consistent efforts taken by BSE SME in creating awareness amongst SMEs about benefits of listing. In the last ten years, BSE has organised 2,500 seminars and 500 webinars along with various industrial and professional associations across the country."

The BSE has interacted with over 36,000 SME promoters to make them understand the benefits of listing and the results of all these efforts are evident in terms of the market cap milestone.

Over the 10 year period, BSE SME has helped companies from diverse sectors to list and raise over Rs 3500 crore of equity funds and the exchange is confident that many more SME companies will list and raise funds from the platform in the future, Thakur added.