Overview

• SEBI is consulting stakeholders on reforms to the securities lending and borrowing framework to make it easier to lend and borrow shares and to support short selling.
• Whole-time member Ananth Narayan said traders now default to futures for short transactions and that the regulator wants to shift activity toward SLB.
• NSE data for early October show only 13,218 SLB trades and 19.51 million shares changing hands, highlighting thin participation.
• Market participants note India’s exchange-based, multi‑intermediary setup contrasts with active over‑the‑counter lending overseas and adds friction.
• Officials emphasized investor safeguards and the market’s reliance on derivatives revenue, and no regulatory changes have been announced.