Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has urged the Securities and Exchange Board of India and all regulated market institutions to remain exceptionally vigilant against emerging cyber threats, warning that even a single successful attack on a major exchange, depository or clearing corporation could destabilise markets at a national scale.
Cyber Threats and Fake Investment Content in Focus
Speaking at SEBI’s 38th Foundation Day, Sitharaman also raised concern over the rapid spread of fake investment videos, cloned applications and deepfake financial promotions on social media. She said many such frauds impersonate public figures and trusted institutions in order to mislead retail investors.
The minister said the regulator viewed the unlicensed financial advisory space with utmost seriousness and pointed to action against unregulated financial influencers, or finfluencers. She said the monetisation of uninformed retail investor trust for personal enrichment should not be tolerated.
FCRF Academy Launches Premier Anti-Money Laundering Certification Program
Mission Jagrook and Consultative Regulation
Launching Sebi’s nationwide investor awareness initiative, Mission Jagrook, Sitharaman said public education must be treated as being as important as regulation in an era of technology-driven fraud. She added that awareness campaigns should be spread across major digital platforms and in regional languages so that the message reaches beyond urban, English-speaking investors.
She advocated a soft-touch regulatory approach supported by public consultation rather than an overly prescriptive rulebook. She said SEBI’s use of consultation papers, stakeholder engagement and iterative policymaking reflected regulatory maturity, and urged the regulator to deepen that consultative path further so that market participants see themselves as partners in regulation.
Push for Common KYC and Deeper Bond Markets
Sitharaman also underscored the need for a seamless, secure and portable know your customer framework across the financial sector. She said the issue had been discussed at the Financial Stability and Development Council, with an emphasis on common KYC norms and greater digitisation. She called it a shared responsibility of all stakeholders to ensure that citizens do not have to repeat the same verification journey across multiple financial products and platforms.
The minister further asked SEBI to continue efforts to standardise debt issuance documentation, improve secondary market liquidity and strengthen credit enhancement mechanisms to widen access to bond markets beyond top-rated issuers. She also called for a serious push towards municipal bonds, saying urban infrastructure cannot depend solely on budgetary resources, and urged closer coordination among Sebi, urban local bodies, state governments and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. She also highlighted Sebi’s legal record, citing success rates of more than 90 per cent in the Supreme Court, 73 per cent at the Securities Appellate Tribunal, and 92 per cent in civil courts and the National Company Law Tribunal.
About the author – Rehan Khan is a law student and legal journalist with a keen interest in cybercrime, digital fraud, and emerging technology laws. He writes on the intersection of law, cybersecurity, and online safety, focusing on developments that impact individuals and institutions in India.
