 ఠ్మిక్త్థమాతదికోదాన్త్త్చాత్త్త్నోదాక్ద్నోత్నుచినుమినుత్త్దిలు. Financial market is a system which facilitates the buyers and the sellers for trading of financial instruments like treasury bills, bonds, equities, various international currencies and derivatives etc. Unlike general market, financial market does not mean only mean a specific place, it is a system. Financial markets facilitates the interaction between those who need capital with those who have capital to invest. Financial markets as you all know are the components of financial system. Financial markets are essential for speedy economic development hence financial markets are called the backbone of the economy. They provide monetary support for the growth of the economy and therefore the growth of the financial markets is said to be the barometer of the growth of countries economy. Financial markets market can be defined as the market in which financial assets are created or transferred. It provides facilities for buying and selling of financial claims and services. Financial market enhances the efficiency of capital formation. It facilitates the flow of savings into investment. Financial markets deal in financial securities also called financial instruments and financial services. Now we will discuss about major participants and players in the financial markets. There are five categories of participants in the financial markets. They are individuals, firms or corporate bodies, governments, regulatory bodies, market intermediaries. First of all individuals. Individuals like you and me can participate in the financial markets. Various business firms or corporate bodies commonly known as companies can participate in the financial markets. Either central or state governments can also participate in the financial markets. There are some regulatory bodies. Those are the components of financial system, financial markets. In the case of India Reserve Bank of India and Securities and Exchange Board of India are the two regulatory bodies participated in financial markets. The last one is market intermediaries. Market intermediaries are also called market middlemen. They are lead managers, transfer agents, depositories, clearing corporations, share brokers, credit rating agencies, underwriters, custodians, portfolio managers, mutual funds, investment companies, etc. Now we are going to discuss the functions of financial markets. Financial markets play a vital role in the economy. It provides facilities for interaction between the investors and the borrowers. It provides pricing information resulting from the interaction between buyers and sellers in the market. When they trade the financial assets, it also provides security to dealings in financial assets. It ensures liquidity to provide a mechanism for an investor to sell the financial assets. And it also ensures low cost of transaction and information. Now we can classify the financial markets from various angles. By nature of claim financial markets can be divided into two parts. They are debt market and equity market. Debt market is a market where fixed bonds and debentures or bonds are exchanged. Equity market is the place for investors to deal with equity. From the point of view of majority of claim, again financial markets can be divided into two and they are money market and capital market. Money market is the market for monetary assets and short term funds such as treasury bills, certificate drop, deposit and commercial paper, etc. Up to one year duration. Maximum duration of the instruments of money markets are one year. The capital market plays the medium and long term financial assets. We will discuss money market and capital market in the later sessions. From the point of view of timing of delivery, financial markets also can be divided into cash market and future markets. In cash market, the cash market is a marketplace where trade is completed in real time. Whereas the delivery of products are taken in the future specified debt in the case of future market. From the point of view of organizational structure, financial markets also can be divided into exchange traded market and over the counter market. Exchange traded market has a centralized system with a pattern procedure. Whereas in the case of over the counter market, it has a decentralized organization with customized procedure. Here in this session, we have discussed about the meaning of financial markets, their functions and their classifications. In the next session, we will discuss about money market. Thank you.