Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath / LinkedIn/Nikhil Kamath

Zerodha founder and CEO Nithin Kamath welcomed a proposal by India’s market regulator to make it easier for Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) to invest in Indian markets without being physically present in India.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) issued a consultation paper Aug. 14 proposing changes to the Know Your Client (KYC) process for NRIs, Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs) and eligible foreign nationals living outside India. The proposed changes would allow eligible investors to complete the onboarding process digitally from their country of residence.

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I've spoken many times about the need to make it easier for NRIs to invest in India. Finally, some great news. SEBI just released a consultation paper proposing a fully digital onboarding process for NRIs, without needing them to be physically present in India! Kudos to SEBI for… pic.twitter.com/MAAm9Hkobo

— Nithin Kamath (@Nithin0dha) August 18, 2026

“SEBI just released a consultation paper proposing a fully digital onboarding process for NRIs, without needing them to be physically present in India,” Kamath said in a post on X.

Kamath said the proposal could help bring more overseas capital into Indian markets, noting that NRIs tend to invest larger amounts and take a longer-term approach.

“This is huge because NRIs tend to have large amounts of capital to invest and are a highly durable source of inflows into Indian markets,” he said.

Zerodha currently has more than 50,000 NRI investors, Kamath said, with about 80 percent of them active. Data shared by the brokerage shows 54,211 NRI accounts with assets under management of about $2.2 billion. The average holdings per active account were about $53,000.

Kamath said the NRI investor base at Zerodha has grown significantly in recent years as the process of investing in India has become simpler.

Earlier regulatory changes allowed many NRIs to move away from the Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS) route and use NRO Non-PIS accounts. According to Kamath, these accounts now provide access to facilities including intraday trading, BTST and futures and options without requiring a CP code.

Despite those changes, Kamath said one major obstacle remains: opening an account from overseas.

“But one massive bottleneck has remained: onboarding,” he said.

NRIs living abroad currently face physical documentation requirements and international courier delays, while parts of the digital onboarding process require the investor to be physically present in India.

SEBI’s latest proposal seeks to address that problem by allowing eligible overseas investors to complete KYC requirements from their country of residence. The regulator is considering allowing electronic submission of KYC forms and officially valid documents, electronic signatures and changes to certain mobile-number verification requirements.

SEBI is also proposing greater use of KYC information already available through the Central KYC Registry and records maintained by other regulated financial entities, which could reduce the need for investors to submit the same documents repeatedly.

The proposal would cover individual investors residing outside India in jurisdictions compliant with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Existing KYC requirements would continue to apply to investors in FATF non-compliant jurisdictions.

Kamath said the changes could significantly reduce the time required for overseas investors to open accounts.

“Something that would take 2-3 weeks or even months could be done within 1-2 days. That's a big win,” he said.

He said reducing the administrative burden could also substantially expand the NRI investor base.

“By removing all this friction, this investor base can easily be many times larger,” Kamath said.

The proposal builds on earlier steps by SEBI to simplify KYC requirements for NRIs. In December 2025, the regulator relaxed certain geo-tagging requirements for NRIs undertaking re-KYC through digital processes, allowing them to complete the process without being physically present in India.

The latest proposal goes further by addressing the process of fresh onboarding, which Kamath identified as the larger hurdle for overseas investors.

Kamath also emphasized the broader economic importance of making it easier for overseas Indians to invest in India.

“Getting foreign money into India matters,” he said. “It helps the investors, but it also helps the rupee and the larger India story.”

“Anything that makes it easier for this money to come into India is worth doing,” he added.

SEBI’s proposals are currently under consultation and are not yet final regulatory requirements. The regulator has invited public comments before deciding on the proposed changes.

Discover more at New India Abroad.