MUMBAI: Amid the continuing speedy growth of the financial markets, including mutual funds, Sebi chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey has called out the low financial literacy among the public. He said better financial literacy is a must for better investor protection as informed decision-making is essential in an increasingly digital financial landscape.
Mutual fund assets reached Rs 79.88 trillion by the end of October, according to Amfi data and given the more than 2% gain in equity markets, it would have added Rs 5 trillion in incremental inflows since then. Between September and October, the AUM jumped by Rs 4.27 trillion from Rs 75.61 trillion to Rs 79.88 trillion.
“Financial literacy stands as a foundation of empowerment, enabling individuals to understand how to save, invest and protect their hard-earned money while navigating an increasingly digital and interconnected financial ecosystem and financial choices are now more closely linked to daily life than ever before,” he told a regional investor awareness seminar organised by the NSE in Puducherry on Saturday, emphasizing on the need to build awareness at the grassroots level.
However, Pandey cautioned that rising participation must be matched with deeper financial understanding. Citing Sebi’s investor survey 2025, he said only 36% of investors have moderate or high knowledge of securities markets, while 62% rely on friends, family or social media for investment advice.
“These findings highlight that awareness is not the same as understanding, and participation without knowledge exposes individuals to unnecessary risk. The gap between awareness and action—and between participation and comprehension — underscores why financial literacy must deepen alongside market growth,” he said.
Nearly 50,000 investor awareness programmes have been conducted across 90% of districts in fiscal 2025, he said.
Pandey said financial choices are now more closely linked to daily life than ever before. He said, “Financial literacy stands as a foundation of empowerment, enabling individuals to understand how to save, invest and protect their hard-earned money while navigating an increasingly digital and interconnected financial ecosystem.”
Highlighting Puducherry’s potential for deeper market participation, he noted that the Union territory’s investor base has grown 5.6 times, from 22,000 investors in FY15 to nearly 1.24 lakh currently, supported by high per capita income and a literacy rate above 85 percent. Pandey said, “The Union territory reflects a population base that is well-positioned to engage with financial products confidently.”
Nationally, the investment landscape has seen a major shift. As of October 2025, the country has over 21 crore demat accounts held by nearly 13.6 crore unique investors, with roughly 1 lakh new accounts opened every day. The mutual fund industry’s assets have crossed the Rs 80-trillion-mark, more than seven times higher than a decade ago, he said.
To strengthen investor protection, Sebi has rolled out several initiatives, including a validated UPI handle framework Sebi Check for verifying intermediary bank accounts, DigiLocker integration for demat and mutual fund holdings, simplified nomination rules, the Mitra platform for tracking inactive MF folios, and upgraded grievance redressal systems such as Scroes 2.0 and Smart ODR.
Pandey also emphasised the need to build awareness at the grassroots level. Nearly 50,000 investor awareness programmes were conducted across 90% of districts in fiscal 2025. Sebi has also partnered with the panchayati raj ministry to train around 2.5 lakh panchayat representatives. Regional media collaborations with Doordarshan and All India Radio are further supporting outreach efforts.
He said Sebi will continue to expand multilingual, multimedia campaigns, building on initiatives like ‘Sebi vs Scam,’ and leverage its new state-level offices to drive investor education.