As ET NOW celebrates 17 years of business journalism and market coverage, the channel reinforced its commitment to investor awareness and financial literacy through the ET NOW Markets Summit 2026, co-powered by PhonePe. Bringing together some of India’s leading economists, policymakers, fund managers and market experts, the summit served as a platform to discuss the future of Indian markets against a backdrop of global uncertainty and economic volatility.

According to a Times Network press release, the summit was held under the theme, ‘Navigating Volatility. Decoding Opportunities’, and featured keynote addresses, panel discussions, exclusive conversations and debate-led sessions aimed at providing investors with a deeper understanding of market trends and emerging opportunities.

Delivering the keynote address, Tuhin Kanta Pandey, Chairman of SEBI, highlighted the growing role of artificial intelligence in the regulatory landscape. He said SEBI is working towards a framework for the safe and responsible adoption of AI across the capital markets ecosystem while ensuring strong human oversight remains central to critical decision-making.

“AI will form a key pillar of SEBI’s future agenda while maintaining strong human oversight. AI can improve surveillance, risk assessment, fraud detection and investor servicing. But it also brings risks related to opacity, bias, data protection, cybersecurity and accountability,” Pandey said.

Addressing the challenges facing India’s capital markets, Pandey noted that the country has successfully navigated multiple external shocks, including tariff concerns, oil price fluctuations, AI-led disruptions and foreign portfolio investor outflows. Despite these pressures, he said, investor confidence and market resilience have remained intact.

He pointed out that India’s capital markets have facilitated fundraising of over Rs.1.5 lakh crore through equity and corporate bonds, while the IPO pipeline continues to remain strong. He also underscored the importance of protecting investor confidence, noting that Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) assets now account for nearly 21 percent of mutual fund assets.

Speaking during the session titled ‘The Resilience of DIIs in Offsetting FII Outflows’, Dinesh Pant, Managing Director of LIC, stressed the importance of diversified investment strategies and highlighted the growing strength of domestic institutional investors.

“Multi-asset allocation is important, it ensures that at a great level you are protected,” Pant said. He added that healthy liquidity, strong domestic participation and consistent capital deployment by domestic investors have helped offset periods of foreign investor selling. According to Pant, domestic institutional investors have become a dependable force supporting Indian equity markets.

During the panel discussion, ‘India: Weathering the Macro Storm’, Ridham Desai, Managing Director and Chief Equity Strategist for India at Morgan Stanley, expressed optimism about India’s growth prospects. He noted that the Real Effective Exchange Rate (REER) suggests the rupee remains undervalued by around 11 percent, making Indian equities attractive from an investment perspective.

Desai also highlighted that India reported earnings growth of around 12 percent in the first quarter and suggested that the next year could surprise positively as the country enters a significant capital expenditure cycle. He further pointed to policy measures related to bonds, FCNR(B) deposits and external commercial borrowings as supportive factors for India’s balance of payments position.

The summit featured a distinguished lineup of market leaders and industry experts, including Sunil Singhania of Abakkus Asset Manager, Sandeep Tandon of Quant Mutual Fund, Sailesh Bhan of Nippon India Mutual Fund, Utpal Sheth of TRUST Group, Sridhar Sivaram of Enam Holdings, Hiren Ved of Alchemy Capital Management, Gautam Chhaochharia of UBS, investor Vijay Kedia, Kailash Kulkarni of HSBC Mutual Fund, A. Bala Subramanian of ABSL AMC, Nilesh D. Naik of PhonePe, Sundeep Sikka of Nippon Mutual Fund and Karan Bhagat of 360 One WAM.

Over the past 17 years, ET NOW has built a strong reputation as a trusted source of business and market news. The ET NOW Markets Summit 2026 extended that legacy by creating a forum for meaningful discussions between investors, policymakers and industry leaders at a time when markets continue to face geopolitical tensions, crude oil volatility, regulatory shifts and global economic headwinds.

The event was supported by HSBC Mutual Fund as Mutual Fund Partner, Life Insurance Corporation of India as Associate Partner, On TV as Transit Media Partner and Dalal Street Investment Journal as Outreach Partner.