SEBI — Regulator of the Capital Market

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is the statutory regulatory authority for the securities (capital) market in India. It was originally set up in 1988 as a non-statutory body and was given full statutory powers under the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992, following which it has become the principal body governing every stage of a security's life in the capital market — from a company's public issue in the primary market, through its continuous trading in the secondary market, to the conduct of every intermediary that touches it along the way.

SEBI's stated objectives, as set out in the preamble to the SEBI Act, 1992, are threefold: to protect the interests of investors in securities, to promote the development of the securities market, and to regulate the securities market. These three objectives are deliberately balanced against one another — investor protection alone, pursued without regard to development, could make the market too restrictive to grow; development pursued without protection or regulation could expose investors to exactly the kind of malpractice the regulator exists to prevent. …