The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is all set to pursue a broader set of capital market reforms to simplify regulatory compliance, improve liquidity in corporate bonds and expand investor access, while retaining safeguards. Addressing the Financial Express Modern BFSI Summit 2026 in Mumbai today, SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey said the regulator’s priorities included updating listing rules, improving the functioning of debt markets and exploring new technologies to make financial markets more efficient and resilient.
Stating that India’s market capitalisation had grown nearly fivefold over the past decade to 472 lakh crore rupees, with more than 15 crore unique investors and 83 lakh crore rupees in mutual fund assets, the SEBI Chairman said regulation needs to keep pace without creating unnecessary complexity.
Mr. Pandey said SEBI is exploring an artificial intelligence (AI) sandbox to test applications in a controlled environment, assess risks and develop safeguards while providing regulatory clarity to innovators. As part of its regulatory review, SEBI is also undertaking a comprehensive review of the Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements (LODR) framework and the small and medium enterprise (SME) initial public offering framework to help genuine businesses raise capital while protecting investors.
Highlighting the need to improve investor awareness, Mr. Pandey said SEBI’s Investor Survey 2025 found that only 36 percent of investors had moderate to high knowledge of securities markets. The Chairman said SEBI would continue to focus on simpler rules, deeper markets and wider access, while ensuring that technological innovation and market expansion do not weaken investor protection.
