SEBI plans to double India’s equity investor base in 3-5 years, says chairman Pandey

Pandey cited findings of a survey conducted by SEBI recently, which points to eagerness to invest, with over a fifth of the respondents saying they plan to invest in the securities market through some route.

“We are looking at double the number of investors. So, that is more than the populations of several countries put together. If we add another 100 million investors,” Pandey said, replying to a specific question on what will make him happy over the next 3-5 years.

As of October, the overall number of unique investors in India stood at 12.2 crore, and the number has grown very fast since 2020 with the emergence of the Covid pandemic.

Speaking at the CII Financing Summit, Pandey said the onus is on the capital markets ecosystem, consisting of the regulator and issuers, to ensure that good quality paper comes to the market which attracts investor attention.

Meanwhile, replying to another query on the possible impact on India if the US markets were to correct, Pandey said the domestic investors play a very strong role in the Indian markets, hinting at a limited impact.

Making it clear that the India story is "not a bubble", Pandey said the investor interest is driven by aspects such as high economic growth, reforms and investments by the government, and the ease of doing business measures.

"The (domestic investors) will be the shields against the shocks that can come."

He said Sebi's agenda is not to add new rules, but the approach is about shaping a smarter rule book that is simpler to understand, proportionate to the risks it seeks to address and supportive of innovation.

Pandey said there have been a slew of signs of maturity in the markets and people's confidence thereof and enlisted some numbers to illustrate the same.

"In FY26, equity capital has crossed ₹2.5 lakh crore, while corporate bonds have touched almost ₹5.5 lakh crore in 7 months. These numbers reflect something deeper than capital buoyancy. They reflect public confidence that public markets can meet long-term financing needs efficiently and reliably," he said.