A record number of retail investors are entering the Indian stock markets, possibly convinced that the regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), is on top of the game. The entry has happened as the markets have soared by 130 per cent by the end of September 2021 in a span of 18 months since the lockdown of March 2020.

       Some of those retail investors would have noticed that Sebi has gone aggressive in the rules it has brought in for the exchanges and the investors. One of those is the expansion of the scope of rewards for information on insider trading, the other ...