Need to bridge gap between investor awareness, participation in equity markets: Sebi chief

New Delhi, Nov 14 (PTI) Sebi Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey on Friday said there is a need to bridge the gap between investor awareness and participation in securities market to educate them so that they make informed investments.

Quoting data from an investor survey by Sebi and Sebi-regulated institutions, which said 63 per cent households have knowledge about products available in the securities markets, but only 9.5 per cent of them are investing in the securities market, Pandey said there is a greater responsibility on Sebi to ensure that first-time investors make informed decisions.

"Financial inclusion does not only mean access, it also refers to whether people have knowledge about investment and have confidence in market. Hence, it's necessary that we work to bridge the gap between awareness and participation," Pandey said.

By way of investor protection and investor awareness, we need to build greater confidence in market, he said, while inaugurating Sebi pavilion named 'Bharat ka Share Bazaar'.

Survey data shows it is very important that people are made aware of the securities market and that they do not get deceived. The 'Sebi Check' tool that was launched from October 1 will aid investors to guard themselves again possible scam, he said.

Stating that people's confidence in Indian equity markets is increasing, Pandey said till October 2025 there were 13.6 crore investors holding more than 21 crore demat accounts. Every day more than 1 lakh demat accounts are being opened.

In the mutual fund industry, Rs 80 lakh crore investments have come in and in 10 years the investments have grown seven times. PTI JD TRB