Nirmala Sitharaman,Union Finance Minister
“…not just Sebi but all regulated entities will have to remain exceptionally vigilant. The tools of attack are evolving at high speed, and the tools of defence must evolve even faster,” Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.
Mumbai: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday exhorted regulated entities in the financial sector to be “exceptionally vigilant” against cybersecurity risks.
Speaking at capital markets regulator Sebi’s 38th foundational day event here, Sitharaman said a single cyber attack on an exchange or depository can disrupt economic activity and impact people’s trust.
Emergence of newer, artificial intelligence-powered tools to make automated attacks makes cyber defence more pertinent, she said.
“…not just Sebi but all regulated entities will have to remain exceptionally vigilant. The tools of attack are evolving at high speed, and the tools of defence must evolve even faster,” she said.
The comments come amid heightened concerns on the capabilities which frontier AI company Anthropic’s newly developed “Mythos” platform portends for cybersecurity and has led regulators across jurisdictions scrambling on ways to mitigate any disruptions.
Sitharaman urged Sebi to institutionalise a system of periodic consultation with its peers across the world, making it clear that Indian regulations must not imitate other countries.
In the comments that come amid unease shown in foreign flows, Sitharaman said that having such a dialogue between the regulators can give confidence to global capital.
With the increasing use of technology, there is an explosion of fake investment videos and apps circulating on social media, many of them using deepfake AI to impersonate leaders, the Union Finance Minister further stated.
In this context, Sitharaman said that SEBI has done commendable good work with the Cybersecurity and Cyber Resilience Framework that came into effect in April 2025. This is a solid foundation on which more work can be undertaken, she added.
The Finance Minister informed that SEBI’s Data Analytics and Digital Forensics Laboratory is using advance analytics, AI/ML models to detect complex market manipulation patterns and network-based frauds.
Sitharaman also commended SEBI for rolling out “SEBI Check”, which allows investors to verify the payment details of registered intermediaries before transferring money.
“These are important interventions, and they should be expanded with urgency and visibility”, she said and urged SEBI to invest very substantially in public awareness, through campaigns on every major platform in regional languages, and through rapid-response takedown mechanisms for fraudulent content impersonating public officials.
FM also said that soft-touch regulation approach and public consultation are essential for economic efficiency and effective governance. Principles-based regulation should be encouraged as far as possible, rather than an overly detailed rulebook.
Sitharaman said, “Our investors are global, our issuers engage international pools of capital and regulatory developments in one major jurisdiction increasingly influence market practice far beyond its borders”. Hence, regulatory conversations cannot remain only domestic, she added.
The Union Finance Minister also stressed on thegrievance redressal systems, that must remain credible, accessible, and timely. Stating that trust in markets depends not only on returns but on the assurance that wrongs can be addressed fairly,
She appreciated SEBI’s actions against unregistered “fin-fluencers”, which signal the seriousness with which the regulator views unlicensed financial advice. “We need enabling frameworks for responsible financial education, but we should not tolerate the monetisation of uninformed retail investor trust for personal enrichment”, said the Union Finance Minister.
The Union Finance Minister also urged SEBI to help drive the prescription of common KYC norms and the simplification and digitalisation of KYC processes across the Indian securities market.
“SEBI has the scale of investor participation, the depth of digital infrastructure, and the institutional credibility among peer regulators to take the lead in this domain”, she added.
Tuhin Kanta Pandey, chairman,Sebi, said that SEBI has led a series of foundational reforms — transitioning to screen-based trading, introducing dematerialisation, moving to rolling settlements, strengthening corporate governance, and building robust risk management systems.
He informed, as on date, India has over 5,900 listed companies and more than 140 million unique investors. Over last decade, market capitalisation has grown at around 15 percent CAGR. Mutual fund assets have expanded at over 20 percent annually. The corporate bond market continues its steady growth.
And each year, the primary market facilitates capital formation of nearly ₹10 trillion.
He further informed, SEBI has deeply engaged with all stakeholders in the past one year, to bring out wide ranging reforms for ease of doing business- to simplify and optimise regulations, remove ambiguities, resolve issues and facilitate capital formation.
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