SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey outlines LODR and SME framework reviews, corporate bond measures and investor access reforms at FE Modern BFSI Summit 2026

Key facts

• Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey announced at the Financial Express Modern BFSI Summit 2026 in Mumbai that the regulator's next priorities are simpler rules, deeper markets, responsible innovation and wider access.
• SEBI is undertaking a comprehensive review of the Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements (LODR) framework and has proposed stronger monitoring of issue proceeds with greater transparency and accountability.
• SEBI is reviewing the SME framework to help genuine enterprises raise capital while ensuring investor safeguards, and a working group on harmonising rules for investment advisers and mutual fund distributors has submitted its recommendations.
• India's market capitalisation has grown nearly fivefold to Rs 472 lakh crore, unique investors have crossed 15 crore, and mutual fund assets have reached around Rs 83 lakh crore.
• Foreign portfolio investors hold around Rs 74 lakh crore in Indian equities and debt.
• The International Monetary Fund's latest World Economic Outlook projects global growth of 3.1% in 2026, against India's projected growth of 7% in each of the next two financial years.
• SEBI has discontinued 52 overlapping mutual fund reports and notices, simplified compliance reporting for stock brokers and rationalised penalties across exchanges.
• Under the Garuda framework, SEBI reduced the timeline for launching regular alternative investment fund (AIF) schemes from 30 days to 10 working days, with eligible schemes launchable immediately upon filing.
• SEBI is reviewing short-selling rules and the securities lending and borrowing mechanism, developing a market-making framework for corporate bonds, and has proposed fixed-income channel partners to widen retail access through regulated online bond platforms.
• SEBI has proposed net settlement of funds for mutual fund schemes to reduce funding costs and improve settlement efficiency.
• SEBI is exploring distributed ledger technology for tokenised corporate bond issuance and settlement through DMAAT 2.4 pilots, and Phase 2 of EMAP 2.0 will enable secondary-market trading of tokenised corporate bonds.
• T+1 settlement, clearing interoperability, pledge and re-pledge of securities, upstreaming of client funds and direct payout of securities have strengthened investor protection, while AI-based tools including the Suptak platform flag compliance gaps and suspicious financial promotions.
• SEBI has strengthened business continuity, disaster recovery and cyber resilience requirements, and exchanges have set up market security operations centres (MSOCs) providing affordable cybersecurity services to market participants.
• SEBI plans simpler digital onboarding, easier KYC procedures and streamlined documentation for global investors, including non-resident Indians (NRIs).
• SEBI is exploring an artificial intelligence sandbox to test applications in a controlled environment, assess risks and provide regulatory clarity to innovators.
• SEBI's Investor Survey 2025 found that only 36% of investors had moderate to high knowledge of securities markets.