Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey has urged the commodity market ecosystem to develop Indian benchmarks and good-delivery standards based on domestic market realities, instead of relying mainly on global benchmarks. Speaking at the Global Commodity Conclave 2026 in Mumbai today, he said the success of the commodity derivatives market should be judged by how effectively it helps the real economy discover prices and manage risks.
Mr Pandey outlined four priorities namely making participation easier, widening the participant base, strengthening links with physical markets and investing in market education. SEBI is examining wider foreign portfolio investor (FPI) access to commodity indices and physically settled non-agricultural contracts. A consultation paper on FPI participation in exchange-traded commodity derivatives (ETCDs) was issued yesterday.
He said consultation on position limits for agricultural commodities has been completed and guidelines will be issued shortly. SEBI chief also highlighted Project Jagrook, aimed at strengthening commodity market awareness among farmers, FPOs, MSMEs, hedgers and other market users. He said price differences in the Sensex and NSE have reduced significantly since 3rd August, following measures including indicative settlement prices displayed by major brokerages. The SEBI Chairman also cautioned about continuing losses in options trading, particularly on expiry days, and said a detailed analytical report on trader demographics and losses will be published shortly.
