The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is the regulatory body for securities and commodity market in India under the administrative domain of Ministry of Finance within the Government of India. It was established on 12-April-1988 as an executive body and was given statutory powers on 30-January-1992 through the SEBI Act, 1992.
SEBI has been the subject of multiple allegations of regulatory capture through its perceived favouritism towards certain conglomerates, raising questions about its credibility and integrity.
History The SEBI was first established in 1988 as a non-statutory body for regulating the securities market. Before it came into existence, the Controller of Capital Issues was the market's regulatory authority, and derived power from the Capital Issues (Control) Act, 1947. The SEBI became an autonomous body on 30-January-1992 and was accorded statutory powers with the passing of the SEBI Act, 1992 by the Parliament of India. It has its headquarters at the business district of Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai and has Northern, Eastern, Southern and Western Regional Offices in New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, and Ahmedabad, respectively. Up until June-2023, it also had 17 local offices spread all over India to promote investor education; however, 16 of them were closed as part of a restructuring exercise.
The SEBI is managed by its 9-member board of members, which consist of the following people: The chairman, who is nominated by the Union Government of India. Two members from the Union Finance Ministry. One member from the Reserve Bank of India. The remaining five members are nominated by the Union Government of India, and out of them at least three should be whole-time members.
After the amendment of 1999, collective investment schemes were brought under the SEBI except nidhis, chit funds and cooperatives.
Organisation structure Tuhin Kanta Pandey took charge as Chairman on 01-March-2025, replacing Madhabi Puri Buch, whose term ended on 28-February-2025.
Current Board Members The board currently comprises: Name Designation Tuhin Kanta Pandey Chairperson Amarjeet Singh Whole time memberMr. Kamlesh Chandra VarshneyWhole time memberMr. Sandip Pradhan Whole time memberMr. K V Ramana MurthyWhole time member
List of Chairpersons The list of SEBI's chairpersons is: Name From ToDr. S. A. Dave12 April 198823 August 1990G. V. Ramakrishna24 August 199017 January 1994S. S. Nadkarni17 January 199431 January 1995D. R. Mehta21 February 199520 February 2002G. N. Bajpai20 February 200218 February 2005M. Damodaran18 February 200518 February 2008C. B. Bhave18 February 200818 February 2011U. K. Sinha18 February 201110 February 2017Ajay Tyagi10 February 201728 February 2022Madhabi Puri Buch1 March 202228 February 2025Tuhin Kanta Pandey1 March 2025Incumbent
SEBI Officers' Ranks and Basic Pay Level Basic Pay (₹/month) Rank in the SEBI Description Equivalent Rank in the Government of India 1 Chairperson Head of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Secretary 2 - Whole Time Member Senior executive assisting the Chairperson Additional Secretary 3 — Executive Director Heads major departments and policy functions Additional Secretary 4 — Chief General Manager (CGM)Grade F Officer Senior regional/departmental head Joint Secretary 5 — General Manager (GM)Grade E Officer Division-level head Director 6 — Deputy General Manager (DGM)Grade D Officer Entry to the Senior management role Director 7 — Assistant General Manager (AGM)Grade C Officer Supervisory management role Deputy Secretary 8 — ManagerGrade B Officer Mid-management officer handling regulatory and policy work Under Secretary 9 — Assistant ManagerGrade A Officer Junior officer level Assistant SecretaryGroup A 10 — Junior Assistant Clerical staff, attendants, operational support UDC / LDC / MTSlevel support staffGroup C
Departments SEBI regulates Indian financial market through its 20 departments. SEBI Departments Commodity Derivatives Market Regulation Department (CDMRD) Corporation Finance Department (CFD) Department of Economic and Policy Analysis (DEPA) Department of Debt and Hybrid Securities (DDHS) Enforcement Department – 1 (EFD1) Enforcement Department – 2 (EFD2) Enquiries and Adjudication Department (EAD) General Services Department (GSD) Human Resources Department (HRD) Information Technology Department (ITD) Integrated Surveillance Department (ISD) Investigations Department (IVD) Investment Management Department (IMD) Legal Affairs Department (LAD) Market Intermediaries Regulation and Supervision Department (MIRSD) Market Regulation Department (MRD) Office of International Affairs (OIA) Office of Investor Assistance and Education (OIAE) Office of the chairman (OCH) Regional offices (ROs)
National Apex Bodies
National Institute of Securities Markets
Functions and responsibilities The Preamble of the Securities and Exchange Board of India describes the basic functions of the Securities and Exchange Board of India as "...to protect the interests of investors in securities and to promote the development of, and to regulate the securities market and for matters connected there with or incidental there to".
SEBI has to be responsive to the needs of three groups, which constitute the market: issuers of securities investors market intermediaries
SEBI has three powers rolled into one body: quasi-legislative, quasi-judicial and quasi-executive. It drafts regulations in its legislative capacity, it conducts investigation and enforcement action in its executive function and it passes rulings and orders in its judicial capacity. Though this makes it very powerful, there is an appeal process to create accountability. There is a Securities Appellate Tribunal which is a three-member tribunal and is currently headed by Justice Tarun Agarwala, former Chief Justice of the Meghalaya High Court.Justice Tarun Agarwala appointed Securities Appellate Tribunal presiding officer – Business Standard. Business Standard. (2018-12-12). Retrieved 2019-03-24. A second appeal lies directly to the Supreme Court. SEBI has taken a very proactive role in streamlining disclosure requirements to international standards. In October 2025, SEBI issued a consultation paper proposing new incentives for retail investors in corporate bonds such as higher coupon rates or issue-price discounts for certain investor categories and recommended raising the threshold for High-Value Debt Listed Entities to ease compliance for issuers.
Powers For the discharge of its functions efficiently, SEBI has been vested with the following powers: to approve by−laws of Securities exchanges. to require the Securities exchange to amend their by−laws. inspect the books of accounts and call for periodical returns from recognised Securities exchanges. inspect the books of accounts of financial intermediaries. compel certain companies to list their shares in one or more Securities exchanges. registration of Brokers and sub-brokers. eliminate malpractices in security market.
SEBI committees
Technical Advisory Committee Committee for review of structure of infrastructure institutions Advisory Committee for the SEBI Investor Protection and Education Fund Takeover Regulations Advisory Committee Primary Market Advisory Committee (PMAC) Secondary Market Advisory Committee (SMAC) Mutual Fund Advisory Committee Corporate Bonds & Securitisation Advisory Committee
There are two types of brokers: Discount brokers Merchant brokers
Major achievements
SEBI has enjoyed success as a regulator by pushing systematic reforms aggressively and successively. It is credited for quick movement towards making the markets electronic and paperless by introducing the T+5 rolling cycle in July 2001, the T+3 in April 2002, and the T+2 in April 2003. The rolling cycle of T+2 means that settlement is done in 2 days after trade date. SEBI has also been active in setting up the regulations as required under law. It did away with physical certificates that were prone to postal delays, theft and forgery, apart from making the settlement process slow and cumbersome, by passing the Depositories Act, 1996.Sebi's 25-year journey. Livemint (2013-05-21). Retrieved 2013-07-29.
SEBI has also been instrumental in taking quick and effective steps in light of the global meltdown and the Satyam fiasco. In October 2011, it increased the extent and quantity of disclosures to be made by Indian corporate promoters. In light of the global meltdown, it liberalized the takeover code to facilitate investments by removing regulatory structures. In one such move, SEBI has increased the application limit for retail investors to from at present.
On the occasion of World Investor Week 2022, SEBI Executive Director Shri G. P. Garg launched a book on Financial Literacy. This book is a joint effort between Metropolitan Stock Exchange of India Limited and CASI New York.
September 2026 board decisions On 24 September 2026, the SEBI board approved an overhaul of the portfolio manager regulations. The changes include a Portfolio Managers Route for Investing in Mutual Fund Units (PRIM), under which portfolio managers may invest client funds in direct mutual fund schemes and specialised investment funds with a minimum ticket size of ; a new category of "independent fund managers"; and permission to invest in initial public offerings and primary-market debt issuances. The board also allowed foreign portfolio investors to participate in physically settled non-agricultural commodity derivative contracts, approved changes to settlement proceedings, permitted real estate and infrastructure investment trusts to issue depository receipts in permissible overseas jurisdictions, and approved a common advertisement code for certain regulated entities.
Criticism and controversies
Regulatory failure, inaction, and incompetence Several major financial scams have shaken the Indian market, like the Satyam scam, IL&FS crisis, Punjab National Bank Scam, and NSE co-location scam. Critics argue that SEBI failed to properly monitor these companies or take timely action when irregularities were noticed.Singh, V.K. (2021). Corporate Governance Failures as a Cause of Increasing Corporate Frauds in India—An Analysis. In: Kaur, H. (eds) Facets of Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility in India. Accounting, Finance, Sustainability, Governance & Fraud: Theory and Application. Springer, Singapore. There have been instances where market intermediaries engaged in fraudulent activities, which resulted in significant losses for investors.Sabarinathan, G. (2010). SEBI’s Regulation of the Indian Securities Market: A Critical Review of the Major Developments. Vikalpa, 35(4), 13-26. SEBI’s monitoring of these intermediaries has been called into question. SEBI has been criticized for its inability to effectively regulate and prevent insider trading, despite having regulations in place. There have been numerous cases where insider trading went undetected for long periods.