Rajesh Dangeti, Chief General Manager, SEBI
Corporate governance must keep pace with the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies, but companies cannot shift responsibility for decisions to machines, a senior SEBI official said on Tuesday, stressing that governance extends far beyond regulatory compliance.Speaking at FICCI's second National Conference on Agile Governance, SEBI chief general manager Rajesh Dangeti said, “Technology may automate decisions but it cannot automate accountability. That accountability continues to rest with us, the human beings, and it always will.”“If an AI-generated earnings presentation contains misleading information, the accountability does not shift. If an algorithm manipulates markets, responsibility remains with those who designed it, approved it and deployed it,” he said.Regulatory focusCompanies have been increasingly deploying AI across finance, compliance, trading systems, customer service and risk management, prompting regulators to focus on governance frameworks that can respond to technological change without compromising investor protection.Dangeti said boards can no longer view governance through the narrow lens of statutory compliance.“Compliance is necessary, but compliance alone is not sufficient. A company may comply with the regulatory requirement and yet may fall short of the standards of corporate governance because governance ultimately reflects the quality of judgment exercised in the boardroom, the integrity of disclosures made to the investors, the culture fostered by the leadership and the willingness to place long-term credibility above short-term gains,” he said.“It is often said that regulations prescribe what companies must do. Governance determines what companies choose to do. That is why I believe that good governance begins where regulatory compliance ends.”The responsibilities of boards have increased with governance today encompassing oversight of cyber resilience, artificial intelligence, data governance, operational resilience, sustainability and third-party risks, in addition to traditional compliance functions. Digital literacy, cyber resilience and AI governance, Dangeti said, can no longer remain confined to technology teams but must become core boardroom priorities.As of May 31, the number of demat accounts had crossed 22.9 crore, while Indian companies mobilised more than ₹1.9 lakh crore through around 366 IPOs during 2025-26. The official said these numbers reflect not just market growth but the trust reposed by millions of investors.“Governance is fundamentally about building trust,” he said. “Trust of millions of investors who participate in our markets with the expectation that they will be treated fairly... Without trust, capital hesitates. Without confidence, investment slows and without governance, trust cannot endure.”The official said that SEBI has been reviewing governance regulations and compliance frameworks with the objective of making them "contemporary, practical and proportionate" while maintaining transparency, accountability and investor protection as markets continue to evolve.Published on July 7, 2026
