The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) along with market infrastructure institutions (MIIs) has initiated work on the second phase of its centralized foreign investor portal, marketaccess.in. This development aims to enhance the portal’s capabilities by incorporating investor-specific details and functionalities, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Phase one of the portal currently functions as a consolidated hub for publicly available regulatory and operational information pertaining to foreign portfolio investor (FPI) activity, consolidating previously scattered data from stock exchanges, depositories, clearing corporations, and custodian forums.
SEBI is assessing features that would enable FPIs to log in and access their India-linked information, which includes securities holdings, transaction statements, settlement positions, investment limits, disclosure triggers, and pending compliance actions. “The idea is to give FPIs a single dashboard where they can track what applies to them, not just all the rules. We have started exploring features and functions that can be made available,” said a source privy to the discussions.
Custodians have provided feedback regarding the features that FPIs most commonly require, such as disclosures, limits monitoring, and compliance reminders.
Data Privacy
However, the planned expansion raises considerable privacy and security concerns, as the portal is developed through a third-party vendor. Concerns revolve around data privacy and potential security risks associated with allowing full access, including detailed transactions. “The initial plan of allowing full access brings data-security risks since the vendor is an intermediary,” noted another individual involved in the discussions. Consequently, the incorporation of transaction capabilities into the portal has been ruled out for the time being.
Instead, SEBI is looking into a model that would offer login-based visibility while securely directing investors to official transaction platforms without exposing data to the vendor. One proposal under consideration is to implement encrypted redirection. In this scenario, an FPI would log in through marketaccess.in, after which they would be directed to the relevant official website—such as a custodian or depository system—to execute transactions, keeping the vendor unable to view or access any underlying data. “The question is how to make this technically feasible without compromising the data path,” said a member of the team.
Currently, work on Phase Two is in progress but is moving at a slower pace compared to the first phase, partly due to the added complexities and the necessity for privacy safeguards. Ongoing discussions with FPIs, custodians, and regulators are focused on determining which features can be safely provided beyond basic login and holdings visibility, and how the portal can securely connect to external systems.
The aim remains to at least offer a login facility for FPIs while continuing to add more features as they become feasible. An email seeking comments from SEBI did not receive a response.
Published on December 4, 2025.
