Amid row over Hindenberg's allegations against Sebi chief Madhabi Buch, the Congress on Tuesday said regulatory failures and conflicts of interest may be brazened out briefly but they can cause long-term damage to the sentiment and confidence of investors. The opposition party also said the Indian equity market has so far enjoyed fair weather due to well-regulated markets but any lapse risks destabilising them. Congress general secretary-in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said data released recently reveals that the unique registered investor base of the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) with unique PANs has crossed 10 crore. He said the immediate implication of this is that integrity and transparency in financial markets matter to a large and growing number of Indians, particularly the youth. The median age of these investors is 32 years, and 40 per cent of all investors are below 30 years of age, Ramesh said, citing the NSE. Financial markets function on the assumption