What is SEBI?

SEBI — the Securities and Exchange Board of India — is the referee of India's capital markets. Set up in 1988 and given statutory teeth in 1992, its job is simple to state and hard to do: protect investors, keep markets fair, and stop fraud.

What SEBI actually does

• Regulates the players: stock exchanges (NSE, BSE), brokers, mutual funds, and rating agencies all answer to SEBI.
• Approves IPOs: every company that wants to list files its prospectus with SEBI, which checks disclosures before the public can invest. (More on that in What is an IPO?)
• Polices bad behaviour: insider trading, price manipulation, and mis-selling are SEBI's beat. It can fine, ban, and refer cases for prosecution.
• Sets the rules: from how much a company must disclose each quarter to how your broker must hold your money.

Why it matters to you

A few SEBI rules quietly protect your money every day:

• Your shares sit in your own Demat account, not the broker's pocket.
• Companies must publish results every quarter, so you can actually analyse them.
• Advisors must be SEBI-registered to give paid advice — a quick way to filter out finfluencer noise.

The limits of a regulator

SEBI makes the market fairer; it does not make it safe. It cannot stop a business from underperforming or a stock from falling. Its promise is a level playing field and honest disclosure — what you do with that information is on you.

When someone promises "guaranteed returns" or a "sure-shot tip," remember: SEBI explicitly bans those claims. If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.