Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey argued that simpler fundraising should go hand in hand with investor safeguards as West Bengal’s securities market expands, Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.
Pandey spoke at the Bharat Chamber of Commerce Investors Forum in Kolkata on Oct. 31, PTI reported. The agency said he pointed to equity and debt fundraising averaging more than ₹10 trillion a year. He also cited market capitalization growth over the past decade. “World-class markets must be not only efficient during normal times, but also resilient during periods of stress,” Pandey said, according to PTI.
A 2022 SEBI circular cut the minimum wait from four days to three working days, measured from the end of rights-entitlement trading until a rights issue closed. PTI also reported changes to IPO processes, public-issue listing timelines, rights-issue schedules and requirements for some issuers. The agency described the measures as intended to reduce companies’ compliance burdens.
PTI said West Bengal had more than 9 million securities-market investors, with about 36% under age 30, but gave no date or measurement basis for the count. The agency described the total as up from about 1.2 million in a financial year it labeled 2015.
Separately, National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) data counted 7.35 million unique registered investors in West Bengal as of Dec. 31, 2025, including 990,000 new registrations from the state that year. The NSE figures provide an earlier benchmark; they are not directly comparable with PTI’s later total, which uses an unspecified basis.
PTI also reported that 379 listed companies had registered offices in West Bengal. More than 40 state-based micro, small and medium enterprises raised over ₹14 billion through small and medium enterprise IPOs, the agency said. Pandey also emphasized investor education and protection.
