India a transparent, well-governed hub for long-term capital: Sebi chief

Sebi chief Tuhin Kanta Pandey told investors India is shaping transparent, credible and resilient markets, aiming to attract long-term institutional capital amid global uncertainty

Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey on Wednesday said India is positioning its capital markets as a stable and credible destination for long-term institutional capital, even as global investors navigate a more volatile and geopolitically fragmented environment.

 

Addressing institutional investors at the Kotak Investor Conference in Mumbai, Pandey said growth in today’s markets is no longer just about returns, but also about “resilience, credibility, and predictability”, underscoring the regulator’s focus on balancing investor protection with ease of doing business.

 

“India’s proposition is simple. We offer scale. We offer growth. And we are building markets that are transparent, well-governed, and investable for long-term institutional capital,” he said, adding that Sebi’s role is to ensure that growth is not just fast, but also credible and durable.

 

 

Pandey highlighted the growing role of capital markets in converting India’s macroeconomic growth into investable opportunities. The country now has over 140 million unique investors, while household savings are steadily shifting towards financial assets, he said.

 

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) remain an important pillar of India’s market ecosystem, Pandey said, even as domestic institutions increasingly provide a counterbalance during periods of global risk aversion. Equity assets under custody of FPIs have more than tripled to about ₹71 trillion since FY16, with total FPI assets under custody, including debt, standing at around ₹78 trillion.

 

On the regulatory front, Sebi’s approach is to pursue “optimum regulation” — avoiding both excessive compliance burdens on genuine businesses and regulatory blind spots that could allow systemic risks to build up, Pandey said.

 

He pointed to measures such as the SWAGAT–FIs framework for single-window access for trusted foreign investors, simplified FPI onboarding, and market microstructure reforms like the closing auction session in equities to improve price discovery.

 

Looking ahead, India’s market growth will increasingly be driven by newer asset classes such as alternative investment funds, Reits, and InvITs, according to the chairman. Sebi’s approach would be to support these new frontiers, while ensuring appropriate governance standards and risk management, he said.

 

“As India’s economy scales, the role of capital markets will become even more central. The next phase of growth will be shaped not just by volumes and valuations, but by market quality — governance standards, disclosure discipline, depth of liquidity, and resilience of institutions… The focus, therefore, is on building markets that are efficient in good times and resilient in volatile times,” he said.