Mumbai, Nov. 24 :    Mumbai, Nov. 24:  Over the Counter Exchange of India (OTCEI), the fledgling bourse struggling to find patrons and instruments that can keep it afloat, is betting on trading in corporate debt to remain in business. The change in tack will take it into an area which has been unexplored, and stood out as one of the uncharted territories in the growth of the country's capital markets. OTCEI managing director Praveen Mohnot said his organisation has sought regulatory approvals to list corporate debt instruments, and that there were enough indications that it will come through in the next few days. 'They appear to be favourably disposed,' he said. He declined to reveal the blue-print of the plan, or the details, saying the strategies are still at a nascent stage, and there is much that will evolve in the months and weeks ahead. However, he did hold out the hope that the new segment will be up and running in two months. 'Starting a new segment for corporate debt is in line with our mission to provide liquidity to unlisted instruments and to increase the depth of the market,' he added. He dismissed concerns that it would undermine or affect the business of the National Stock Exchange, which, he argued, is largely a market where equity and government securities are traded. 'They will leave corporate debt paper to OTCEI,' said an official of Unit Trust of India (UTI), one of the exchange's 13 promoters. UTI, which is worried over the flagging fortunes of OTCEI, had sent Mohnot on deputation to the exchange and asked him to prepare a new charter for its revival. OTCEI is of the opinion that the corporate debt market has tremendous potential by virtue of its sheer size. However, it is still an evolving market, which facilitates deals on the telephone by dealers unfettered by regulation. Trades last year were estimated at Rs 15,000-20,000 crore. In the last financial year, an eye-popping amount of Rs 75,000 crore was raised through private placement of corporate debt. This market is not policed by either the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) or the Securities and Exchange Board of India, although there is a growing realisation that it cannot be left unattended for a long time. OTCEI's proposal, therefore, has come at the right time for regulators because all deals in corporate debt would be official and registered. More important, it will help a bourse, which has been pushed to the edge by the introduction of rolling and uniform settlement, bounce back. Globally, the trend among bourses is of consolidation as the Big Daddies gobble up smaller rivals. The winds of change have now started to sweep India, where the Delhi and Madras stock exchanges have been keen to fold into the Bombay Stock Exchange. OTCEI, incorporated in 1990, was set up to help enterprising promoters raise funds for new projects in a cost-effective manner and to provide investors a forum which offers a transparent and efficient mode of trading. Last year, it had introduced the concept of late-evening trading that allowed operators to arbitrage in shares. Modelled along the lines of the US' Nasdaq, OTCEI introduced many novel concepts to the Indian capital market, such as screen-based nation-wide trading, sponsorship of companies, market making and scripless trading. The Dave Committee suggested in 1996 that the exchange start trading in equity shares of unlisted firms.