More Stories

Informist, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026

MUMBAI – With India's retail investor participation rising to nearly 140 million, markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India is putting in effort to bridge the gap between basic awareness and informed investing, Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey said on Friday. Speaking at Outlook Money's 40After40 event, Pandey said that while technology has made investing more accessible and inclusive, many new investors are entering markets with only moderate understanding of risks, leaving them vulnerable to mis-selling, scams, and risks.
 
"General awareness about securities markets is merely the first step in the knowledge ladder. There is a gap between awareness and informed participation," Pandey said, citing SEBI's recent investor survey. "Trust matters even more today because participation, especially retail, is expanding rapidly."

SEBI is working towards curbing the rise in cyber fraud and scams, through certain protective measures, Pandey said. The regulator has intensified its response to a growing number of scams and cyber frauds involving entities falsely claiming to be SEBI-registered and offering guaranteed returns, often routing payments through QR codes or cloned mobile applications, he said.

To counter this, the market regulator has introduced 'SEBI Check', a facility that ensures payments go only to SEBI-registered intermediaries. This facility tells whether a payment mode is verified and safe to use or not within 30 seconds, he said. SEBI has also mandated a new UPI handle structure for intermediaries collecting investor funds, with verified handles carrying a unique "@valid" identifier.

 
SEBI has mandated stock exchanges to maintain white lists of authorised broker applications, while the regulator is actively monitoring digital platforms for misleading investment content and escalating such material for takedown, Pandey said. He also said SEBI actively monitored digital platforms for misleading content related to investments.

"Cyber fraud will continue to increase as digital channels become more influential. We will continue our relentless efforts to combat these frauds - through technology, tightening processes, and spreading awareness," Pandey said. "We are working to deepen the equities market as well as to make the corporate bonds and hybrid securities markets more accessible to retail. This will ensure that you have more diversified options beyond traditional investment avenues."  End

Reported by Simran Rede

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.

Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd. by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt. Ltd.

Informist Media Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2026. All rights reserved.