The Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Tuhin Kanta Pandey, stated that responsibly governed and shared market data can significantly strengthen policy design, supervision, and risk assessment, as the regulator moves to promote high-quality research across the securities ecosystem.
Addressing the 6th Annual International Research Conference on Securities Market 2025-26, organized by the Securities and Exchange Board of India and the National Institute of Securities Markets today, Mr. Pandey said that SEBI increasingly views market data as a public good and has improved accessibility for researchers.
Highlighting the structural shift in India's securities market from scale to sophistication, he noted that market capitalization has risen from around 100 trillion rupees in FY15 to over 470 trillion rupees, while mutual fund assets under management have grown from 12 trillion rupees in FY16 to 81 trillion rupees as of January 2026. Mr. Pandey said that the increase in the number of unique investors to 140 million reflects a maturing, market-driven financing ecosystem.
Mr. Pandey cautioned that while technology now underpins trading, clearing, and settlement, it also introduces new risks. Artificial intelligence and analytics have strengthened market surveillance, but algorithmic systems and opaque models pose emerging concerns, he added, calling for deeper research into market microstructure and technology-led risks.
Mr. Pandey said that SEBI has mandated data-sharing policies, released investor survey data for academic use, and established the NISM Centre for Regulatory Studies as a global knowledge hub. A committee led by the Chief Economic Advisor will guide regulatory impact assessments, with a dedicated unit set up under the Department of Economic Policy and Analysis (DEPA) to institutionalize policy-oriented research while simplifying regulations without diluting core objectives.
