SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey has warned investors against anonymous tips, finfluencers and exaggerated return claims as the regulator launches a nationwide investor-education campaign.
Project Jagrook does not introduce a new rule for finance creators. It is an investor-awareness push, but its launch makes clear why finfluencers remain in SEBI’s line of sight: more Indians are entering the securities market while financial knowledge remains uneven.
SEBI’s concern with finfluencers is not new
In March, Pandey said a SEBI investor survey showed that nearly 62% of prospective investors were influenced by finfluencers. He warned that as India’s investor base expands, a shortage of regulated advisers can leave space for unregulated voices to present opinion as expertise and speculation as strategy.
TCI has previously explained how SEBI registration changes the line finance creators have to work within. Creators can still make educational content, but investment advice, securities recommendations and paid research sit inside regulated categories with registration and disclosure requirements.
That pressure is already affecting creator-led finance businesses. TCI also reported on Zerodha shutting down Zero1, its creator-led media network, after the company cited regulatory uncertainty. The latest warning does not add another restriction, but it keeps finfluencers firmly inside SEBI’s investor-protection conversation.
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Investor access has grown faster than investor knowledge
Pandey said India now has 23.8 crore demat accounts and around 15 crore unique investors. Yet SEBI’s survey found that while about 63% of households were aware of at least one securities-market product, only 9.5% participated in the market.
Knowledge remains uneven even among people who invest. Only 36% of investors were assessed as having high or moderate knowledge of the securities market. Participation was also much higher in urban India, at around 15%, compared with about 6% in rural areas.
Against that backdrop, Pandey asked investors to use regulated products, channels and entities, avoid anonymous tips and exaggerated claims, and put money only into products they understand. The warning is especially relevant to online finance content because confidence, reach and follower count do not establish whether the person giving a recommendation is qualified or regulated.
Project Jagrook will use the same channels where financial advice spreads
Project Jagrook brings SEBI, stock exchanges, depositories, the Association of Mutual Funds in India and the National Institute of Securities Markets into a coordinated investor-education programme. Its first campaign ‘Samajh Se Investing Simple’ will run through March 2027 across television, print, radio, cinema, digital platforms, social media, OTT and WhatsApp.
The campaign will be available in English, Hindi and 11 regional languages. SEBI has also rolled out MUST, or Mentoring of University/College Students by Trainers, and launched an official WhatsApp presence. It is separately working with the Ministry of Panchayati Raj and state governments to extend investor education beyond large cities.
For finance creators, the significance is not a fresh compliance rule. It is that SEBI is pairing its existing regulatory framework with its own distribution strategy. The regulator now wants financial education to reach investors on the same screens and messaging channels where anonymous tips, return claims and finfluencer content already compete for attention.
