Indian market remains resilient despite rising volatility, says SEBI chairperson

Indian markets have shown resilience despite rising volatility due to global uncertainties, with fluctuations remaining well within manageable limits, said Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Chairperson Tuhin Kanta Pandey on Monday (May 18, 2026).

“Indian markets have remained quite resilient, although volatility has increased. But it is not beyond something markets cannot handle. The advantage of resilient markets is that they are able to absorb different types of shocks. And when these shocks get over, markets again pursue their normal trajectory,” Mr. Pandey said, responding to queries on the impact of the West Asia crisis on the Indian economy.

“The current crisis is quite difficult in terms of the reach it has on the rest of the world, particularly through oil-related price and supply shocks. All economies have been affected. Obviously, there are inflationary risks, along with spillover and second-order effects on the economy,” he said.

“Now, the government is taking different steps to address the situation. I think the sooner this crisis is resolved, the better it is for the world. But ups and downs are quite natural in the markets because these markets are interconnected globally. So, one part of the world is also impacting the others as well,” he explained.

Stating that over the last decade, India’s securities market has grown at an unprecedented pace, Mr. Pandey said, “Market capitalisation has increased from ₹95 lakh crore in 2016 to about ₹463 lakh crore in April 2026. The corporate bond market has expanded from ₹20 lakh crore to about ₹60 lakh crore at the same time.”

Similarly, retail participation has also surged. “Today, we have around 145 million, which means 14.5 crore, unique investors compared to just 38 million (3.8 crore) in 2019. We are also seeing strong primary market issuances,” he said.

“Last year was very difficult. But we still raised about ₹13 lakh crore of resources through debt and equity from this market. This shows capital formation continues. There are countries in the European Union that did not record a single IPO in a whole year. We got 366 last year,” said Mr. Pandey.

“Mutual funds have become a major channel for participation. Assets under management have grown from ₹12 lakh crore in 2016 to nearly ₹82 lakh crore at the end of April 2026. Monthly Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) flows, which were nearly ₹3,000 crore in April-16, have increased 10 times to over ₹31,000 crore in April 2026,” he said, highlighting the robustness of India’s financial market.