Regulator profile · IN
SEBI — Securities and Exchange Board of India
Tracked byBrokerlist Editorial · Independent review teamUpdated
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is India's capital-markets regulator. SEBI supervises NSE/BSE-listed equities, mutual funds and futures-and-options, but does NOT license retail OTC FX with foreign brokers — outbound retail FX is restricted under the Reserve Bank of India's Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) regulations.
Brokers in India accepting residents under SEBI- Jurisdiction
- Republic of India.
- Founded
- 1992
- Mandate
- Established as a statutory regulator under the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act 1992 (informal predecessor since 1988). SEBI sets and enforces conduct, registration and disclosure rules for all market intermediaries — brokers, depositories, mutual funds, AIFs, investment advisors. Currency derivatives on NSE/BSE/MCX-SX (only INR pairs against permitted currencies) fall under SEBI rather than RBI.
- Consumer protection
- The SEBI Investor Protection Fund (IPF) and exchange-level Settlement Schemes (SCSS) cover investor losses from broker default. Bank deposits are separately covered by DICGC up to INR 5 lakh per depositor (~USD 6,000). No specific compensation scheme for retail OTC FX with offshore brokers (which is largely unauthorised).
- Retail leverage caps
- SEBI margin rules (revised 2020): equity F&O up to 1:50 effective; index intraday 1:5; cash segment minimal. Currency-derivatives margin set per-contract by the exchange. Retail OTC FX with foreign counterparties is prohibited under FEMA — only INR pairs against USD, EUR, GBP, JPY on Indian exchanges are permitted.
- Public register
- SEBI maintains lists of registered intermediaries by category — Broker (Stock/Commodity), Depository Participant, Investment Adviser, Mutual Fund, Portfolio Manager. Cross-reference with NSE/BSE member directories for trade-execution intermediaries. Open register ↗
- Dispute resolution
- SCORES (SEBI Complaint Redress System) is the online complaint portal. SEBI can issue binding directions against registered intermediaries; ultimate recourse is the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) and the Bombay High Court.
- Editor notes
- SEBI does NOT license retail OTC FX with foreign brokers — that activity is prohibited under RBI's FEMA regulations. Indian retail traders accessing offshore brokers (Exness, FBS, OctaFX, XM) operate in legally precarious arrangements; some use the RBI's Liberalised Remittance Scheme (USD 250,000/year limit) for self-funded offshore accounts but speculative leveraged FX is excluded from LRS-permitted purposes.
Brokers we track with a SEBI licence
No brokersNo tracked broker currently holds a SEBI licence in our database.