Inside the sprawling complex of India’s market regulator located in Mumbai’s dense financial district, officials are turning to artificial intelligence to police some of the world’s most sophisticated traders. On a typical workday, dozens of analysts cluster around screens, using artificial intelligence tools to sift through vast streams of data – stock volumes, derivative positions and algorithmic identifiers – in search of anomalies, according to people familiar with the matter.

Suspicious stock tips and promotional posts are also tracked across social media and forums, then simultaneously matched against trading activity to identify potential pump-and-dump schemes.

The initiative reflects SEBI’s broader push to modernize oversight amid rising algorithmic trading volumes and cross-border market manipulation. Analysts say the AI systems help detect patterns that human reviewers might miss, including coordinated insider trading and spoofing strategies.

Regulators globally are adopting similar tech-driven approaches, but India’s financial watchdog is among the first in Asia to deploy AI at such scale.