SEBI stepping up regulatory reforms to boost market integrity and investor protection: Economic Survey 2026

To improve ease of doing business and transparency in the securitised debt market, SEBI aligned its guidelines for the issuance and listing of securitised debt instruments with the Reserve Bank of India’s norms on securitisation of standard assets, improving data dissemination to investors and credit rating agencies.

• SEBI launched new rules to boost market integrity and investor protection.
• A nationwide 'SEBI vs SCAM' campaign was started to fight financial fraud.
• SEBI requires digital platforms to comply with disability rights for market access.

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The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has rolled out a wide-ranging set of regulatory initiatives aimed at strengthening market integrity, deepening capital markets, and enhancing investor protection, the Economic Survey has said. The measures its says reflect the regulator’s focus on building a transparent, resilient, and inclusive securities market ecosystem while improving operational efficiency and market confidence.

A major thrust of SEBI’s recent actions it notes has been on investor protection and empowerment. To ensure secure and verified payment channels, SEBI has mandated a new UPI address structure for all SEBI-registered intermediaries collecting funds from investors, effective October 1, 2025. This has been complemented by the launch of ‘SEBI Check’, a verification mechanism designed to enhance the safety and accessibility of investor payments.

To counter financial fraud and market-related scams, SEBI launched a nationwide awareness campaign titled ‘SEBI vs SCAM’ in July 2025, in collaboration with market infrastructure institutions. The campaign focuses on helping investors identify red flags, understand verification protocols, use trusted grievance redressal mechanisms, and follow safe digital practices. In parallel, SEBI, along with the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, initiated a nationwide training programme for block-level Panchayat representatives to promote financial literacy and investor awareness at the grassroots level.

The Survey also highlighted steps taken to improve accessibility in the securities market. SEBI has mandated that all digital platforms of regulated entities comply with provisions of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, enabling the full and effective participation of persons with disabilities in capital market activities.

Efforts to strengthen the bond market and expand access were another key focus area. SEBI introduced a new regulatory framework for ESG debt securities—excluding green bonds—covering social, sustainability, and sustainability-linked bonds. To deepen the municipal bond market, outreach programmes on municipal finance were organised to bring together issuers, investors, and regulators, while credit rating agencies were advised to extend the expected-loss-based rating scale for municipal bonds issued for infrastructure financing.

To improve ease of doing business and transparency in the securitised debt market, SEBI aligned its guidelines for the issuance and listing of securitised debt instruments with the Reserve Bank of India’s norms on securitisation of standard assets, improving data dissemination to investors and credit rating agencies.

The Survey noted that SEBI has also focused on strengthening the regulatory framework and improving operational efficiency. Stock brokers registered with SEBI are now permitted to undertake securities market-related activities in GIFT-IFSC through a Separate Business Unit without requiring specific regulatory approval. Governance norms were tightened by mandating listed entities to follow industry standards on minimum information disclosure for the approval of related-party transactions. In addition, requirements related to sponsor contributions for the conversion of private InvITs into public InvITs were streamlined, and intermediaries were allowed to use NPCI’s ‘e-KYC Setu System’ as an alternative to Aadhaar-based authentication.

To foster market development and improve product depth, SEBI introduced a framework for independent verification of risk and return claims made by investment advisers, research analysts, and algorithmic trading providers through a Past Risk and Return Verification Agency, which is currently being operationalised. In the derivatives segment, electricity derivatives beginning with monthly futures contracts were launched on the NSE in July 2025, following a consultative approach between SEBI and the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission to ensure their use as hedging instruments rather than speculative tools.

The regulator has also taken targeted steps to strengthen equity derivatives markets. To reduce expiry-day volatility and improve uniformity, exchanges were directed to standardise expiry days to either Tuesday or Thursday. SEBI further revised norms related to open interest calculation, market-wide and entity-level position limits, eligibility criteria for derivatives on non-benchmark indices, and introduced intraday monitoring of position limits for equity index derivatives.