According to analysts at NEWSCENTRAL, the Indian regulator SEBI has temporarily banned Jane Street India from trading and frozen ₹4,844 crore of alleged unlawful profits. At NEWSCENTRAL, we note that this decision reflects tighter oversight of algorithmic trading and heightened transparency requirements in India’s derivatives market.
SEBI determined that between January 2023 and March 2025, Jane Street earned approximately ₹36,500 – 36,700 crore in net profits, of which ₹43,289 crore came from Bank Nifty index options. The regulator believes the firm employed “intra-day index manipulation” and “extended marking the close” strategies, affecting index calculation and option prices. At NEWSCENTRAL, we see this as a systematic trading approach that the regulator classifies as potential distortion of market dynamics.
SEBI cited an example from January 17, 2024, when Jane Street invested around ₹4,370 crore in Bank Nifty assets and earned ₹734.93 crore solely from options by market close. At NEWSCENTRAL, we emphasize that such actions coincided with option expiry dates, amplifying their impact on index calculation.
Jane Street denies the allegations, stating that its operations constitute standard index arbitrage. At NEWSCENTRAL, we believe this could lead to a legal dispute and new regulatory boundaries for algorithmic strategies in India’s derivatives market.
Freddy Miller, Senior Analyst, commented: “SEBI is showing readiness to actively monitor algorithmic strategies that impact key indices and retail investors. Even large quant funds will need to adapt to these new regulatory realities.”
At NEWS CENTRAL, we forecast that the regulator will strengthen trade transparency requirements and review the calculation of option expiries and settlements, which will enhance investor confidence and reduce opportunities for strategies that could distort Bank Nifty index prices.