According to reports, India's markets regulator has begun discussions about bringing family offices under its jurisdiction, as the country's billionaires become a more powerful force on exchanges.

The discussions include asking family offices to disclose their entities, assets, and investment returns for the first time, as well as creating a separate category to regulate investment vehicles.

According to the sources, the Securities and Exchange Board of India wants more information about how large family-run conglomerates invest in publicly traded securities and the potential risks. The watchdog met with some of the nation's largest family offices earlier this year and requested written submissions from others. The final shape and timing of the new rules are unclear. There are currently no specific regulations governing family offices in India.

The push demonstrates how the country's ultra-wealthy families have emerged as dominant players, with significant investments capable of disrupting market dynamics. Family offices, which numbered only a few in India two decades ago, have emerged as key financiers for startups, private equity investors, and initial public offerings. Many people invest in regulated entities such as alternative investment funds or shadow lenders.

India is home to some of the world's wealthiest people, including oil-refinery tycoon Mukesh Ambani, who has a net worth of $96.4 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, and Gautam Adani, whose $89.6 billion fortune includes ports and coal trading.

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While the firms represent a single family, dozens of individuals, entities, and businesses may contribute to a family office's capital in India. According to a person familiar with the discussions, Sebi wants a better understanding of how family members invest their wealth in general to avoid conflicts of interest and insider trading, among other issues.

"Almost every founder of a listed company in the Nifty 1000 maintains at least one" investment entity in India or abroad, and frequently several more, depending on the number of family branches, said Srinath Sridharan, corporate advisor and author of a book on succession planning.

"That means we're looking at more than 3,000 entities, including real estate holding companies, that are separate from the operating businesses. However, only a few are professionally managed with formal governance and risk frameworks," he explained.

The way Sebi defines family offices, whether it focuses on a few large outfits or takes a more comprehensive approach, will be critical, according to Sridharan.