Tuhin Kanta Pandey lays down SEBI’s ‘optimal regulation’ roadmap — 5 key highlights from Mint BFSI Conclave 2025

Securities and Exchange Board of India Chairperson Tuhin Kanta Pandey on Friday spoke extensively on the role of SEBI in market regulation, saying that the board's role has clearly been optimal regulation.

Pandey was speaking at the Mint Annual BFSI Conclave 2025.

Here is what the SEBI Chairperson said on market regulation.

1. Optimum regulation

Speaking at the 18th edition of the Mint Annual BFSI Conclave, Tuhin Kanta Pandey said SEBI's goal has been very clear — optimal regulation.

“Regulation is not the destination, it is the instrument. Over-regulation may kill the very innovation that drives our economy, while under-regulation may breed systemic risk,” he said delivering the keynote address to the conclave.

SEBI has undertaken a comprehensive review of stock brokers and mutual fund regulations "to make them more objective, contemporary, easier to comply with, while strengthening investor protection.

2. Regulation not an end in itself

Speaking to Mint editor-in-chief Ravi Krishnan at a fireside chat at the Mint Annual BFSI Conclave, Tuhin Kanta Pandey said that India has latent potential if markets are regulated better.

“Refulation is for a purpose, it is not an end it itself. The purpose also changes when the context changes,” he said.

Pandey referred to a concept called “stickiness” in rules and regulations, where if a regulation comes up it tends to stick on for ages.

“We don't review and many a times there are no sunset clauses,” he said.

This burdens the entire ecosystem even though the regulation was put in place for certain bad actors.

3. Endemic in stickiness

Speaking further on the point of “stickiness” in rules and regulations, Tuhin Kanta Pandey said it was more like an “endemic”.

“Not only in India, [it is there] in several other jurisdictions. If you see, a lot of countries today are talking about deregulation. There was a time when they were talking about re-regulation and countries in Europe went so far. Now they have started treading down because there is a cost to regulation.”

4. Improving regulations

Pandey said that there will always be some room for improvements in case of regulations in terms of bringing it down and making it more effective.

“We have penalties going on for years. If you are penalising people, don't make it look like a double penalty… If you do not stress on this commonality, who will define it? It's regulations again,” the SEBI Chairman said giving an example.

5. Streamlining regulations without the risk

In order to create a more streamlined regulatory framework, SEBI is looking to have a common regulation for fund managers so it can dissociate industry regulations from manager regulations.

This will not only reduce the cost of doing business, but also the time to do it, Pandey said, adding that SEBI is now working on a process to streamline regulations without increasing the risks.