New Delhi, October 5 (Daily Kiran) : The Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Tuhin Kanta Pandey, issued a warning on Monday regarding the influence of so-called ‘finfluencers’ and those promising unrealistic returns. His remarks come at a time when the Indian market is experiencing rapid growth, with an increase in both market capitalization and the number of investors.
Speaking at the launch of SEBI’s ‘Project Aware’ at Punjab University, Pandey noted that more families are now investing in capital markets, discovering products that were scarcely available a decade ago. He emphasized that families are allocating significant portions of their savings into securities market instruments. Furthermore, he pointed out that Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs) have emerged as one of the most accessible investment methods for retail investors.
Pandey highlighted SEBI’s efforts to simplify the mutual fund scheme categories, set cost limits, and introduce lower investment amounts for SIPs to encourage broader participation. He revealed that India’s market capitalization has quadrupled over the past decade, reaching approximately ₹472 trillion, while the assets of foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have surged from ₹22 trillion to ₹78 trillion.
According to Pandey, SEBI has introduced a more straightforward framework for FPIs, facilitating digital onboarding and enhancing the ease of doing business for foreign investors. He also mentioned that the regulator has expanded the market by introducing new financing channels for investment advisors, ESG rating firms, startups, and infrastructure projects.
He noted that India’s capital market system has evolved from primarily supporting domestic investment to positioning the country as a potential hub for global fund management activities. The access to capital markets has improved through the SME IPO platform, with the IPO listing timeline reduced from T+6 to T+3 working days.
Regarding market infrastructure improvements, Pandey stated that India was the first market to test T+1 settlement and was among the early countries to facilitate interoperability among clearing corporations. He also mentioned the launch of online bond platforms to enhance access to corporate bonds in the debt market, alongside the introduction of green, sustainable, and municipal bonds, which have opened new avenues for capital raising.
Pandey concluded by noting that as market participation and digitization increase, SEBI has tightened regulations related to cybersecurity reporting to ensure investor protection.
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