SEBI stands for the Securities and Exchange Board of India. It is the regulator of India’s securities markets, including stock exchanges, brokers, mutual funds, research analysts and investment advisers, and it is headquartered in Mumbai.
SEBI was given statutory powers under the SEBI Act, 1992. Its job can be summed up in three parts: protecting investors, developing the securities market, and regulating everyone who operates in it.
In day-to-day terms, SEBI’s rules touch almost everything you do as a market participant:
- Brokers, depositories and exchanges must follow its rules on margins, settlement and client money.
- Anyone who gives paid stock advice must be registered with SEBI as a research analyst or investment adviser.
- Listed companies must disclose results and important events on time.
- It sets F&O rules, such as the 2024 framework that limited weekly expiries to one index per exchange.
A simple example: if you open a demat account with a broker, that broker is a SEBI-registered intermediary. If it misuses your funds, SEBI can act against it, and you can complain through SEBI’s grievance system.
Students sometimes think SEBI guarantees returns or protects them from market losses. It does neither. It sets fair rules and acts against fraud, but price risk is always yours.
For more, read what SEBI is and how it protects investors. Market regulators and structure form the opening module of our Diploma in Stock Market.