India’s capital markets remained resilient during the financial year 2025-26 despite global uncertainties, with India retaining the top position globally in the number of Initial Public Offerings (IPO) and ranking third in funds raised.
According to SEBI’s Annual Report released yesterday, the regulator said, the primary equity market remained strong even as corporate bond mobilisation declined by 8.4 per cent to 9.1 lakh crore rupees, marking the first fall in four years. Public debt issuances, however, rose nearly 39 per cent, while municipal bond fundraising surged to one thousand 756 crore rupees through 14 issues.
SEBI also introduced a new Closing Auction Session (CAS) to improve price discovery and align India’s markets with global standards. The report noted that foreign portfolio investor (FPI) ownership fell to a 15-year low, while domestic institutional investors (DII) reached a record 17 per cent equity holding by March 2026.
Mutual fund participation continued to expand, driven largely by Tier-3 cities, with monthly SIP contributions touching a record average of over 16,400 crore rupees. It also said, 62 per cent of retail investors are influenced by financial influencers on social media, prompting stronger investor protection measures.
The regulator outlined several initiatives for the coming year, including Project Jagrook for investor awareness, an AI-enabled WhatsApp campaign, simplified nomination norms, a fast-track mechanism for alternative investment funds, the SEBI Setu portal, and a pilot project for tokenisation of corporate bonds using distributed ledger technology.
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