Madhabi Puri Buch, the chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), underscored the pivotal role of technology in driving the remarkable transformation of the country's capital markets in a pre-recorded address at the symposium on India’s Securities Market Tech Stack (SMART 2025).
Buch celebrated the collective efforts of various stakeholders who have contributed to shaping India’s dynamic securities market ecosystem.
She pointed out that from market infrastructure institutions and exchanges to brokers, mutual funds, and financial advisors, the country’s capital markets have thrived on collaboration.
The result, she said, is a technologically accessible and affordable system designed to empower citizens and promote inclusive wealth creation.
“A system that is efficient but exclusive does not serve the nation. We wish for our market ecosystem to be inclusive and to bring as many citizens as possible of the country into the fold and the opportunity of wealth creation for our nation,” Buch said.
A key theme of her speech was the democratizing power of artificial intelligence (AI), which, she explained, is revolutionizing the way technology is deployed across industries.
According to Buch, AI was allowing organizations to leverage technology, irrespective of their size or technological expertise. "AI is hugely democratizing the ability to deploy technology within an organization. No longer does an organization have to rely on only a small set of people or highly specialized, technologically trained individuals to deploy technology across the organization," she added.
She also emphasized the significant changes that have already taken place in India’s securities markets over the past decade due to technological advancements. These changes, she said, set the stage for further transformation, with AI playing a crucial role in this evolution. The rapid rise of AI-powered tools, such as ChatGPT, which gained a million users in just five days, exemplified the democratization of technology, enabling broader participation and innovation across sectors.
“We are on a magical journey where technology acts as the magic wand to create an inclusive and empowered society. Our market ecosystem, supported by technology, reflects the growth of the nation,” she said.
Echoing Buch's sentiments, Sebi whole-time member Ashwani Bhatia highlighted the rapid transformation of India’s securities market, particularly in the past two years.
Bhatia credited the success to the widespread adoption of technology by market regulators and participants. “Technology has not only been the harbinger of changes in the Indian securities market, it has also been a transformation of the market, contributing to the growth of the economy,” he said.
Bhatia further highlighted several key technological milestones, including the dematerialization of shares, screen-based trading, and seamless onboarding through e-KYC, which have made investing easier and more efficient for ordinary Indians.
He noted that Sebi’s regulatory approach had been to incrementally support technology-driven processes, ensuring that these solutions are accessible and sustainable.
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