Securities Markets Code 2025 Consolidates India’s Capital Market Laws, says Economic Survey

The economic survey2025-26 pointed out a landmark reform in India's financial sector with the introduction of the Securities Markets Code, 2025.

This new legislation consolidates three major laws: the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956, the SEBI Act, 1992, and the Depositories Act, 1996, into a single, unified framework.

The Code is trying to make things easier by streamlining regulations. This will help simplify compliance and reduce overlaps. The main goal of the Code is to strengthen the governance of India's capital markets. The Code wants to make India's capital markets better.

According to the Survey, the consolidation is aimed at simplifying regulatory architecture, reducing overlaps, and improving regulatory clarity and efficiency in the functioning of capital markets.

By unifying multiple laws, the Securities Markets Code seeks to provide a more coherent and streamlined governance structure, aligned with the evolving needs of India’s rapidly expanding equity and debt markets.

The Survey notes that this consolidation comes at a time of robust activity in the primary market. Between April and November 2025, India witnessed 320 IPOs, compared to 260 IPOs in FY25, raising ₹218.3 thousand crore against ₹169.9 thousand crore in the previous year.

In addition to legislative consolidation, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has introduced several innovations to enhance investor protection and market depth.

This surge reflects growing investor confidence and the deepening of India’s capital markets, supported by a more transparent and predictable regulatory environment.

The Economic Survey also places the Securities Markets Code within the broader context of financial sector reforms. Complementary initiatives in insurance through the Sabka Bima Sabki Raskha Act, 2025, and banking regulatory consolidation are aligned to create a more integrated financial ecosystem.

Together, these reforms are expected to boost investor confidence, improve the ease of doing business, and support India’s long‑term growth trajectory.

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