SEBI chief Pandey: easier fundraising, firmer protection
SEBI chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey said in Kolkata that IPO, rights issue and debt rules have been eased while compliance is made risk-based.
SEBI chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey said on 31 October 2026 that the regulator is working to make India's capital markets "more accessible, efficient and resilient", in a speech at the Bharat Chamber of Commerce in Kolkata, as reported by BusinessToday and, citing ANI, The Tribune. He listed fundraising changes already made, gave market figures, and said compliance rules are being reviewed to be more proportionate. The speech announced no new rule, but it is a useful summary of where SEBI says its policy stands.
What he said
The event marked the chamber's 125th anniversary and the launch of its Investors' Forum. Pandey described three goals: widen access for businesses, simplify fundraising and protect investors. He said markets must work well "in stressful times", not only in normal ones, and that success should be judged by how well savings reach productive investment, not by market capitalisation, trading volumes or speed alone.
The changes he listed
Both reports list measures SEBI has already taken, without effective dates:
- Streamlined IPO procedures and shorter timelines for rights issues and public issues.
- Rationalised listing requirements for large issuers.
- Permission, under conditions, for founders to keep certain employee stock options after listing.
- Debt securities with lower face values, which widen who can buy corporate bonds.
- A relaxed mandatory merchant banker requirement for some eligible issuers doing private placements.
The Tribune's ANI report says these aim to cut issuance costs while keeping safeguards, and that SEBI is reviewing processes to make compliance "more proportionate and risk-based" without weakening governance. The reports do not give the specific conditions for founders' ESOPs or the new timelines.
The numbers he cited
According to the ANI-based report, Pandey said market capitalisation has grown about 17% a year over the past decade and mutual fund assets about 20% a year. Unique investors have grown fourfold since FY19 to over 15 crore. Companies raised over Rs 98,000 crore through 189 IPOs in the first half of this financial year, and outstanding corporate bonds are about Rs 61 lakh crore. BusinessToday adds that companies raised more than Rs 10 lakh crore a year on average through equity and debt issues. For West Bengal, he said investors rose from about 12 lakh in FY15 to over 90 lakh, with about 36% under 30, and that 379 listed companies are registered in the state. More than 40 of the state's small and medium enterprises have raised over Rs 1,400 crore through SME IPOs.
These are the regulator's own statements at a public event, not audited data, so treat them as SEBI-reported.
The two amounts Pandey cited are on very different scales. The chart puts the bond market and the first-half IPO money side by side, in lakh crore rupees.
Why the framing matters
Shorter timelines, lower bond face values and lighter merchant-banker rules reduce the cost and delay of raising money. The bond point may matter most to lenders: smaller denominations let more investors buy the same paper, which can broaden an NBFC's funding base. Pandey also called informed investors "the first line of defence" and said growing reliance on technology makes cybersecurity and surveillance critical.
What it means for readers
Companies planning an IPO, rights issue or bond sale should read the current SEBI circulars for exact conditions, since the speech gives none. Founders should check the ESOP conditions before assuming they can keep options after listing. Lower issuance costs do not remove market risk. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell.
What to watch next
- Any consultation paper or circular that turns the "proportionate, risk-based compliance" review into specific rules.
- The detailed conditions for founders' ESOPs after listing.
- IPO activity in the second half of the year, against the 189 issues cited for the first half.
- Further remarks on cyber and operational resilience for market institutions.
Key takeaways
- SEBI chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey said on 31 October 2026 that the regulator is easing fundraising while keeping investor protection central.
- He cited 189 IPOs raising over Rs 98,000 crore in the first half of the financial year and about Rs 61 lakh crore of outstanding corporate bonds.
- SEBI says it is reviewing compliance to be more proportionate and risk-based, without weakening governance.
- The speech announced no new rules and gave no effective dates, so companies should rely on the circulars themselves.
Sources
- [BusinessToday: SEBI working to make capital markets more accessible, efficient and resilient, says chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey](https://www.businesstoday.in/markets/story/sebi-working-to-make-capital-markets-more-accessible-efficient-and-resilient-says-chairman-tuhin-kanta-pandey-564945-2026-10-31)
- [The Tribune (ANI): SEBI working to ease fundraising, strengthen investor protection: Chairman Pandey](https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/bharat-chamber/sebi-working-to-ease-fundraising-strengthen-investor-protection-chairman-pandey)
Tags: SEBI IPO Regulation Corporate bonds Investor protection