In a significant move to foster innovation and technological advancement in India’s capital markets, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has launched a Securities Market Hackathon at the Global Fintech Fest 2025 (GFF ’25). Organized in collaboration with leading market infrastructure institutions—BSE, CDSL, NSDL, and KFintech—the initiative invites the country’s brightest tech minds to address pressing challenges through cutting-edge digital solutions.
Hackathon Theme and Objective
The theme for this year’s hackathon is: “Driving Innovation and Tech-Oriented Solutions in Securities Market.” This initiative aims to harness emerging technologies and creative problem-solving to strengthen market infrastructure and improve investor outcomes.
By encouraging participants to build impactful, scalable tools, SEBI hopes to empower retail investors and enhance transparency, compliance, liquidity, and accessibility in the capital markets ecosystem.
Focus Areas: Real-World Problem Statements
Participants are required to develop innovative solutions that address one or more of the following key problem statements:
Fraud Prevention: Designing technology to detect and prevent fraudulent activities in market transactions.
Enhancing Retail Investor Education & Engagement: Developing tools to improve investor awareness, literacy, and participation.
Improving Liquidity in Bond Markets: Creating mechanisms to attract greater participation and ease of trading in the corporate and government bond markets.
Member Compliance Monitoring: Building automated systems to monitor and ensure regulatory compliance among market participants.
These problem areas reflect current challenges faced by the Indian securities market and underscore SEBI’s commitment to a digitally advanced, transparent, and inclusive market environment.
Opportunities for Participants
The hackathon provides a unique opportunity for students, fintech innovators, startups, and developers to showcase their talents at a national platform. Selected participants will get to present their solutions at GFF ’25, one of Asia’s largest fintech events, offering visibility to industry leaders, regulators, and potential investors.
Beyond the prize money, selected solutions may gain access to SEBI’s Innovation Sandbox—a controlled environment for testing fintech applications with real-time data—along with potential mentorship and support from capital market institutions.
Why This Matters
This hackathon isn’t just a competition—it’s part of SEBI’s broader digital transformation vision. With India’s investor base expanding rapidly and technology reshaping global financial markets, there is an urgent need for smart tools that make investing safer, more informed, and more accessible. The Securities Market Hackathon at GFF ’25 is a timely step toward making India’s markets more resilient, inclusive, and tech-forward.