SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey on Saturday stressed the growing importance of financial literacy and investor protection, stating that informed decision-making has become essential in an increasingly digital financial landscape. He was addressing a regional investor awareness seminar organised by the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in Puducherry.
Pandey said financial choices are now more closely linked to daily life than ever before. He said, “financial literacy stands as a foundation of empowerment, enabling individuals to understand how to save, invest and protect their hard-earned money while navigating an increasingly digital and interconnected financial ecosystem”.
Highlighting Puducherry’s potential for deeper market participation, he noted that the Union Territory’s investor base has grown 5.6 times, from 22,000 investors in FY15 to nearly 1.24 lakh currently, supported by high per capita income and a literacy rate above 85 percent. Pandey said, “the Union Territory reflects a population base that is well-positioned to engage with financial products confidently”.
Nationally, India’s investment landscape has seen a major shift. As of October 2025, the country has over 21 crore demat accounts held by nearly 13.6 crore unique investors, with roughly one lakh new accounts opened every day. The mutual fund industry’s assets have crossed Rs 80 trillion, more than seven times higher than a decade ago.
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However, Pandey cautioned that rising participation must be matched with deeper financial understanding. Citing SEBI’s Investor Survey 2025, he said only 36 percent of investors have moderate or high knowledge of securities markets, while 62 percent rely on friends, family or social media for investment advice. “These findings highlight that awareness is not the same as understanding, and participation without knowledge exposes individuals to unnecessary risk. The gap between awareness and action — and between participation and comprehension — underscores why financial literacy must deepen alongside market growth” he said.
To strengthen investor protection, SEBI has rolled out several initiatives, including a validated UPI handle framework, SEBI Check for verifying intermediary bank accounts, DigiLocker integration for demat and mutual fund holdings, simplified nomination rules, the MITRA platform for tracking inactive MF folios, and upgraded grievance redressal systems such as SCORES 2.0 and SMART ODR.
Pandey also emphasised the need to build awareness at the grassroots level. Nearly 50,000 investor awareness programmes were conducted across 90 percent of districts in 2024–25. SEBI has also partnered with the Ministry of Panchayati Raj to train around 2.5 lakh panchayat representatives nationwide. Regional media collaborations with Doordarshan and All India Radio are further supporting outreach efforts.
He said SEBI will continue to expand multilingual, multimedia campaigns—building on initiatives like SEBI vs SCAM—and leverage its new state-level offices to drive investor education.
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