has proposed a uniform 30-day time lag for both sharing and use of price data for investor education and awareness activities, seeking to strike a balance between preventing misuse of market data and ensuring educational content remains relevant.
Currently, stock exchanges and market intermediaries are allowed to share price data for educational purposes with a one-day lag, while entities engaged solely in education can use such data only if it is at least three months old.
The move was based on stakeholder feedback which raised concerns at both ends of the spectrum that the one-day lag was too short and prone to misuse, while the three-month restriction made educational content stale and less effective. “It is felt that a time lag of 30 days for both sharing and usage of price data would suffice the purpose of protecting against misuse of exchange data as well as keeping the education content relevant,” SEBI said in a draft paper on Tuesday.
The regulator said that the use of live or near-real-time market data in educational content could blur the line between education and investment advice. Analysing current prices to predict future movements would fall within the scope of investment advisory or research analyst activity, which requires registration and compliance with stricter norms.
Under the proposal, all other safeguards prescribed in earlier circulars would continue to apply. Persons engaged solely in education would still need to comply with prohibitions laid down in the January 2025 circular, including restrictions on activities that could be construed as advisory or recommendation-based.
SEBI had originally tightened norms on sharing real-time price data in May 2024 to prevent its misuse by online gaming platforms and unregulated apps. The January 2025 clarification further narrowed the scope for educators by mandating a three-month lag on data usage.
Public comments on the latest proposal are invited until January 27.