Big firms become even bigger; market polarisation worries Street

Reliance Industries' m-cap now 50% higher than the combined m-cap of all small-caps

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) wants fund managers to broad-base their portfolios, by investing more in mid- and small-cap stocks, and reduce their exposure to large-caps.

However, Indian markets have become more polarised with each passing year.

In the last five years, bulk of the gains in the broader market has come from a select few stocks, while majority continue to languish.

The five biggest index stocks, in terms of index weight, accounted for 62 per cent of the incremental rise in the Nifty since end-December 2014. In comparison, the top five stocks accounted for 47 per