SEBI reviewing broker, IPO, analyst norms as part of next reform phase: Tuhin Kanta Pandey

Addressing the ICICI India Investor Conference 2026 in Mumbai, Pandey said India's capital markets have emerged as a critical channel connecting household savings with enterprise growth, supported by rising retail participation and deepening financialisation of savings.

Reflecting on the growing role of markets in wealth creation, Pandey said, "Capital markets are increasingly becoming a core avenue for household savings and wealth creation. Such broad-based participation also places a greater responsibility on market design and regulation. But markets of this scale do not evolve on their own."

According to the SEBI chief, the regulator's approach remains focused on balancing investor protection with ease of doing business and market development.

"They require a framework that balances ease of access, efficiency, and trust. At the regulatory level, our approach has been consistent: optimum regulation--regulation that protects investors, preserves market integrity, and enables growth," Pandey said.

He pointed out that public capital expenditure has nearly doubled as a share of total spending over the last five years, creating the vital infrastructure and digital building blocks necessary to fuel a modern, AI-driven digital economy.

Tracing the exponential trajectory of the capital markets chronologically, Pandey detailed how they have transitioned into a critical bridge connecting household wealth with enterprise while smoothly drawing in global capital.

This massive retail migration is reflected in how Indian families allocate their wealth, with household financial savings as a percentage of GDP rising steadily from around 20% in FY23 to 21.7% in FY25.

By the close of FY26, this momentum culminated in a historic capital mobilization era where annual equity issuances crossed 4.5 trillion rupees and corporate bond issuances exceeded 9 trillion rupees.

During this same period, individual investor participation in the securities market surged to 145 million unique accounts--growing at a clip of over 20% annually--while overall mutual fund assets ballooned over the years from a base of 12 trillion rupees to an unprecedented 80 trillion rupees. Over the span of a decade, India's broader market capitalization grew from a modest 69% of GDP to an astounding 128% today.

Looking ahead, he announced that SEBI and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are now actively working together to introduce derivatives on corporate bond indices to deepen debt market liquidity and risk management options.

Furthermore, the regulator is currently collaborating with custodian banks and the RBI to execute a "further substantial reduction in the timelines for FPI registration and onboarding," ensuring that global capital enjoys highly predictable, fast, and unencumbered access to India's domestic financial ecosystem. (ANI)