At a time when India is adding nearly one lakh new demat accounts a day, Sebi Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey, speaking at an investor awareness seminar in Puducherry today, has stressed the need for deeper financial literacy. Highlighting the importance of investor education in India, Pandey said only 36% of current investors possess a moderate or high level of knowledge about securities, even though India has over 21 crore demat accounts and the mutual fund industry now has assets exceeding Rs 80 lakh crore.

He said financial literacy is no longer optional but as fundamental as reading or writing, and that it affects every individual regardless of age, profession, or income level. "It helps people distinguish credible financial opportunities from misleading promises and protects them from misinformation and impulsive decisions. A financially aware citizen is better prepared to participate meaningfully in the economic growth of the nation."

Talking about a remarkable transformation in India's investment environment, Pandey said as of October 2025, India has over 21 crore demat accounts held by nearly 13.6 crore unique investors, highlighting the widening trust and participation in the securities market. "Every day, approximately one lakh new demat accounts are opened, and this growth is no longer concentrated in metropolitan cities but extends across Tier-2 and Tier-3 towns, young professionals, self-employed individuals, senior citizens and increasing numbers of women investors."

Highlighting the insights of the Investor Survey 2025, Pandey said it provides important insight into the current state of investor understanding. "Only 36% of current investors possess a moderate or high level of knowledge about securities markets, and 62% rely on recommendations from friends, family or social media instead of registered intermediaries."

However, he highlighted new vulnerabilities that have emerged as India makes progress in the financial space, which makes Sebi's job as a regulator even more important. "Online scams, deep-fake impersonations, fraudulent trading applications, guaranteed return schemes, unregistered advisory groups and manipulative messaging platforms increasingly target unsuspecting individuals. The challenge today is not only to increase participation, but to ensure that individuals enter the market with clarity rather than imitation, and with confidence rather than fear of missing out," said Pandey.

He said to support investors, safeguard participation and strengthen transparency; the regulator has introduced several important measures. "UPI handle framework ensures that payments are made to authentic UPI IDs of Sebi-registered intermediaries; the Sebi Check functionality helps verify the genuineness of their bank accounts; and Digilocker integration gives investors secure access to demat and mutual fund holdings. Platforms like MITRA, SCORES 2.0 and SMART ODR are aimed at reducing fraud risk, simplifying compliance and speeding up grievance redressal, with nearly 90% of surveyed users expressing satisfaction,” said the Sebi chief.

He said even the strongest systems can't replace awareness, which remains the core foundation of investor protection. "Around 50,000 investor awareness programmes have been held across nearly 90% of districts in 36 states and UT during 2024-25."

Talking about Sebi's policy towards protecting investors, Pandey said the regulator will take up several multi-media, multi-lingual, theme-based campaigns with its ecosystem. "Based on learnings from SEBI’s Investor Perception Survey, we will design the outreach strategy for investor awareness in different languages for maximum impact. SEBI’s new State-level offices will aid in the implementation of this strategy."