BSE CEO Ashish Chauhan said Sensex reaching 60k is an indicator of India's growth potential.New Delhi: Equity benchmark Sensex crossed the psychological 60,000-mark on Friday for the first time ever.

The 30-share BSE index climbed the last 10,000 points at a record pace.

It took just eight months for the Sensex to jump from 50,000 to 60,000-mark.

It touched 50k-mark in January this year and hit 60k in September.In an exclusive chat with TheIndianSubcontinent, BSE Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ashish Kumar Chauhan said that, "In May 2019, I had said that we should be able to reach 60,000 in the next five years.

But, it happened in just two-and-a-half years instead of five.

India's Sensex story is here to stay.

60,000 is not the end, it's just the beginning of the Sensex story.When asked if India's stock market is in a bubble, Mr Chauhan said, "It has been described as a bubble for the last 42 years.

But, it's very much real.

Sensex is a real time number and not a past number -- like GDP (Gross Domestic Product) number -- nor a future prediction."The BSE Chief was also asked if the stock market investments are safe? To which, he replied, "For the last 8-10 years, stock market investments are safe but before that it was not the case.

But now, market investments are profitable and safe.On new investors, he said, "New age brokers have started opening accounts very aggressively.

We are getting more than one lakh investors coming into the Indian stock market for the last several months, especially during COVID and that's telling you the kind of pressure coming through the hinterland.""With eight crore investors, we are almost competing with the number of farmers.

I think slowly Indian investors are becoming key political constituency too," he added.Adding a piece of advice for the investors, he stated, "Try to be cautious.

Invest on your caution rather than your hope.

When markets go up further, you (investors) need to be more cautious.""Sensex reaching 60,000 today is an indicator of India's growth potential, as well as the way India is emerging as a world leader during COVID period in addition to worldwide monetary expansion and relaxed fiscal policies adopted by world powers," Mr Chauhan said earlier in the day."The increase in stock prices has been broad based in recent period.

I take this opportunity to congratulate all Indians citizens and investors for this achievement," he added Sensex was at 1,000 points in 1990 and took nearly 25 years before it touched the 30k-level in 2015.

The index has climbed from the 30k-mark to 60,000 in a little over six years.