Overview
SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) Officers regulate India's capital markets — listed companies, mutual funds, stockbrokers, foreign portfolio investors, REITs, InvITs. The Grade A Assistant Manager exam is highly competitive — typically 100-200 vacancies for 50,000+ applicants. SEBI plays a central role in India's evolving capital markets — IPO regulation, market surveillance, enforcement against insider trading and market manipulation, mutual fund supervision, and the new asset classes (REITs, InvITs, crypto-asset spotlight). Pay is at central government Group A scales.
Day-to-day responsibilities
Review IPO prospectuses and other public-offering documents; supervise stock exchanges, depositories, and clearing corporations; investigate insider trading, market manipulation, and front-running cases; monitor mutual-fund schemes and AMC compliance; conduct on-site inspections of broker-dealers; participate in international cooperation (IOSCO meetings); draft SEBI circulars and master regulations; engage with industry stakeholders; coordinate with RBI, MoF, FATF on cross-regulatory issues.
Skills required
- Securities law and SEBI Act in depth
- Capital market microstructure understanding
- Financial statement analysis
- Investigation and forensic accounting basics
- Market data analysis (Bloomberg, NSE/BSE feeds)
- Knowledge of FEMA, PMLA, FATCA, CRS
- Report writing for adjudication and policy
- Stakeholder engagement (industry, market intermediaries, courts)
Education path
Bachelor's degree in any discipline with minimum 60% aggregate. SEBI Grade A Officer Examination: Phase 1 (Prelims), Phase 2 (Mains — descriptive papers on securities markets, accounting, economic developments), Phase 3 (Interview). Streams: General, Legal, Information Technology, Engineering, Research, and Official Language. Age limit 30 with category relaxations. Probationary training at SEBI's National Institute of Securities Markets (NISM).
Career progression
- 1Assistant Manager Grade A (0-5 yrs)
- 2Manager Grade B (5-10 yrs)
- 3Deputy General Manager (10-15 yrs)
- 4General Manager (15-22 yrs)
- 5Chief General Manager / Executive Director (22+ yrs)
Top employers in India
Useful certifications
- SEBI Grade A Examination clearance
- NISM Series IX Securities Markets Foundation
- NISM Series X-A / X-B Investment Adviser
- CFA Levels I-III
- NCFM / NISM Specialist Modules
- CS / CA / LLB (parallel)