SEBI, the Securities and Exchange Board of India, regulates India's stock market. It was set up in 1988 and got legal powers under the SEBI Act in 1992. It licenses and watches over exchanges, brokers, mutual funds, advisers and listed companies. It writes the rules for IPOs and trading and goes after fraud and insider trading. It is based in Mumbai. Its chairperson since March 2025 is Tuhin Kanta Pandey.
SEBI decides who can work in India's securities market and how. Every broker, exchange, mutual fund, depository, research analyst and investment adviser needs its licence. Every listed company has to follow its disclosure rules. A new margin rule, a changed expiry day, a ban on a finfluencer: nearly all of it starts at SEBI.
History
SEBI began in April 1988 as an advisory body with no legal teeth. The Harshad Mehta scam of 1992 showed the market needed a real regulator. The SEBI Act 1992 gave it the power to make rules, inspect, investigate and punish. Since then it has overseen the move to screen trading, demat accounts, T+1 settlement and the retail boom after 2020. The government appoints its chairperson for a fixed term. Tuhin Kanta Pandey, a former finance secretary, took charge on 1 March 2025 for three years.
What SEBI does
Its work has three parts. First, it protects investors. It sets what companies must disclose, runs the SCORES complaints portal, and polices fraud, price rigging and insider trading. Second, it regulates the middlemen. It registers and inspects brokers, fund houses and advisers, and sets the capital and conduct rules they live under. Third, it grows the market. It approves new products, such as weekly index options or the specialised investment funds launched in 2025. It also reins them in when they cause harm, as it did with F&O lot sizes and expiry days in late 2024.
The exchanges answer to SEBI too. The NSE and BSE are regulated bodies, and SEBI can overrule them. Two recent rule sets hit traders directly. The broker, mutual fund and IPO rules of December 2025 are covered in SEBI's new rules. The algo trading framework for retail investors is explained in SEBI algo trading rules 2026.
SEBI and the retail investor
For an individual, SEBI matters in four practical ways. A broker's licence number starts with INZ. It should be on the broker's website and can be checked on SEBI's site. Complaints a broker or fund house does not fix go to SCORES. Only a SEBI-registered adviser or research analyst can legally sell stock advice. The crackdown on unregistered Telegram and YouTube tipsters is described in Telegram stock tips vs SEBI-registered research. And SEBI's own learning material, including the Saarthi app, is free and sells nothing.
What SEBI does not do
It does not promise returns or pay back losses on a bad investment. It does not regulate banks, insurance or pensions. Those belong to the RBI, IRDAI and PFRDA. It does not run the exchanges day to day. And it does not pick stocks. When a product is called "SEBI approved", it usually means only that the seller is registered. It does not mean the product is safe.
FAQs
What is SEBI's full form?
Securities and Exchange Board of India.
Who is the current SEBI chairperson?
Tuhin Kanta Pandey, in office since 1 March 2025 for a three-year term.
How is a complaint filed with SEBI?
On the SCORES portal or app, after first raising it with the broker or company. SEBI tracks the reply and can step in.
Does SEBI regulate crypto?
No. Crypto assets are not securities under Indian law, so they sit outside SEBI's remit.