SEBI on August 7, 2026 streamlines its framework for inspecting market intermediaries by lowering its FY27 inspection target and moving toward more risk-based, intelligence-led supervision. Under the revised approach, SEBI will conduct joint inspections with stock exchanges and depositories where feasible, including for entities that hold multiple intermediary registrations, in order to reduce repeated inspection visits during the year. SEBI also plans to discontinue repetitive annual comprehensive inspections for compliant entities, such as Qualified Stock Brokers, while continuing to prioritise inspections for entities that repeatedly appear in risk parameters, carry high-risk scores, or trigger multiple alerts from exchanges.
SEBI says it will increase reliance on exchange-generated alerts, investor complaints, and inputs from social media to shortlist entities for inspections on a quarterly basis. Inspections may also be initiated using market intelligence and references from SEBI’s regional and local offices, covering issues such as technical glitches, cyber incidents, and concerns involving authorised persons of stock brokers.
For FY27, SEBI rationalises its inspection target to roughly one-third of the previous financial year, citing regular inspections already carried out by stock exchanges and depositories.
