The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) launched its nationwide investor awareness drive, Project Jagrook, in Chandigarh on 5 October 2026. The campaign will run in English, Hindi and 11 regional languages till March 2027. It seeks to close the gap between high awareness and low participation by taking simple financial lessons to rural areas and colleges while warning first-time investors against anonymous tips and exaggerated return promises.
What Is SEBI?
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is the statutory regulator for the securities market in India. SEBI protects the interests of investors, regulates stock exchanges, brokers, mutual funds and other intermediaries, and promotes orderly growth of the market.
SEBI was first set up in 1988 as a non-statutory body. It became a statutory body through the SEBI Act, 1992. SEBI is headquartered in Mumbai, with regional offices in New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Ahmedabad. The Chairperson of SEBI is Tuhin Kanta Pandey (as of October 2026), who took charge on 1 March 2025 for a three year term.
SEBI performs broad market functions. It frames rules for the market, conducts inspections and enforcement action, and runs investor education and grievance redress. Its regulatory reach covers listing of shares, trading and settlement, takeovers, mutual funds, alternative investment funds, portfolio managers, investment advisers, research analysts, credit rating agencies and market infrastructure such as exchanges, clearing corporations and depositories. Two tools that directly help common investors are SCORES, the online complaint redress platform, and the SEBI investor education portal with free reading material and videos.
What Is Project Jagrook?
Project Jagrook is SEBI’s nationwide investor awareness campaign to help people understand markets before they invest. SEBI launched the campaign in Chandigarh on 5 October 2026 and will run sustained communication till March 2027 in English, Hindi and 11 regional languages.
The word Jagrook comes from Hindi and means awake, aware and watchful. It is also written as Jagruk in English. SEBI uses both Project Jagrook and Mission Jagrook for the same national drive. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman digitally launched Mission Jagrook at SEBI’s 38th Foundation Day programme in Mumbai on 25 April 2026. SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey then launched the nationwide media phase at Panjab University in Chandigarh on 5 October 2026, on the eve of World Investor Week 2026.
Project Jagrook brings SEBI together with stock exchanges, depositories, the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) and the National Institute of Securities Markets (NISM) under one framework. The central theme is Samajh Se Investing Simple, which means simple investing through understanding. The campaign rests on four working ideas. Keep language simple and free of jargon. Reach people where they already are. Keep messages relevant for students, first-time rural savers and retirees. Keep communication continuous from October 2026 till March 2027.
On the same day, SEBI also inaugurated its new Local Office in Chandigarh at Sector 17B. The office will cover Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh and will function under SEBI’s Northern Regional Office in New Delhi. Its tasks include faster redress of investor grievances and spreading financial literacy in the region.
Why SEBI Launched Project Jagrook: The Awareness Gap
SEBI was established to protect investors and to develop a fair securities market. Investor protection remains important because more Indian households now save in market products but many still act on rumours. Project Jagrook was designed after SEBI’s Investor Survey 2025 showed that information exists but does not reach people in a language and form they trust.
The survey results explain the urgency. About 63 percent of households knew of at least one securities market product, but only about 9.5 percent actually participated. Only 36 percent of investors had high or moderate knowledge of markets. Fewer than 1 percent had ever attended an investor awareness programme, yet 91 percent of those who attended found it useful. Only 6 percent knew about SEBI’s grievance redress systems, though 88 percent of users were satisfied with the outcome.
| Indicator from SEBI Investor Survey 2025 | Finding |
|---|---|
| Households aware of at least one market product | 63 percent |
| Households actually participating in securities market | About 9.5 percent |
| Urban participation | 15 percent |
| Rural participation | 6 percent |
| Investors with high or moderate market knowledge | 36 percent |
| People who attended an awareness programme | Fewer than 1 percent |
| Attendees who found the programme useful | 91 percent |
| People aware of grievance redress mechanisms | 6 percent |
SEBI linked this gap to market growth. Demat accounts have risen to 23.8 crore, with 15.1 crore unique investors. Mutual fund assets under management grew from about ₹12 lakh crore in FY16 to about ₹87 lakh crore. Market capitalisation grew from ₹95 lakh crore to about ₹472 lakh crore over the same period. Household flows into securities market instruments were about ₹7 lakh crore in FY25. Access has widened through shorter IPO listing time of T plus 3 working days and T plus 1 settlement. SEBI’s message is that education is now market infrastructure, just like exchanges, clearing corporations and depositories.
How Will Project Jagrook Reach Investors?
SEBI will run the first media campaign from 5 October 2026, followed by steady communication till March 2027. The messages will appear on television, print, radio, cinema, outdoor hoardings, digital platforms, social media, OTT services, WhatsApp and face to face programmes. This mix was chosen because survey respondents said they prefer to learn through social media, mobile apps, television and digital advertising in familiar languages.
The language plan is wide. All core communication will be available in English, Hindi and 11 regional languages. The 11 languages are Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu. The goal is to take the same simple message to a college student, a first-time rural saver and a retiree without heavy jargon.
Investors will also see the campaign inside their trading accounts. By a circular dated 1 October 2026, SEBI asked stock brokers to display investor awareness messages shared by SEBI on their websites and trading apps as part of Project Jagrook and World Investor Week 2026. From 5 to 31 October 2026, brokers must show the messages with prescribed risk disclosures on their websites, while display on apps remains optional. From 1 November 2026, the messages must appear on the landing page of broker websites. On trading apps, the Project Jagrook message and the risk disclosure must appear on alternate days. From November, the display must be bilingual in Hindi and English. SEBI has also marked its presence on WhatsApp with an official channel for investor awareness, so users can receive verified messages instead of forwarded rumours.
Samajh Se Investing Simple and MUST: Lessons for Students and Villages
Samajh Se Investing Simple is the learning programme under Project Jagrook. It is free and needs no prior knowledge of stocks or mutual funds. A beginner can start with salary, spending, emergency funds and loans and then move step by step to markets, funds and fraud protection. Modules can be taken in any order, though starting with Module 1 helps. The total viewing time is about 3 hours 39 minutes. The programme is available mainly in Hindi and English and can be accessed on a mobile phone through the SEBI website and the SEBI investor education portal. It does not recommend any stock or fund.
| Module | Title | What It Teaches |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Money Before Markets | Salary, spending, emergency fund and loans, about 46 minutes |
| 2 | From Money to a Plan | Setting dated goals and understanding risk and return, about 26 minutes |
| 3 | Understanding and Preparing to Enter the Market | Shares, bonds, fund units, players, regulators, demat accounts and KYC, about 50 minutes |
| 4 | Investing Through Mutual Funds | How funds work, how to choose and how monthly investing works, about 33 minutes |
| 5 | Investing Directly | IPOs, direct shares, bonds, government securities, PPF, NSC, SCSS, Sukanya Samriddhi and NPS, about 37 minutes |
| 6 | Staying Invested | Reading statements, handling behaviour, tax planning and family protection, about 47 minutes |
| 7 | Protecting Yourself | How frauds work, how to verify a person before paying and how to complain, about 21 minutes |
For financial literacy in educational institutions, SEBI has rolled out MUST, which stands for Mentoring of University and College Students through Trainers. Under MUST, teachers, staff and senior students are trained as Partner Trainers who then conduct awareness sessions on campus. As part of this push, AMFI signed an agreement with Panjab University on 5 October 2026 to spread financial literacy among students and educators across Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh.
For rural financial literacy, SEBI will work with the Ministry of Panchayati Raj to carry messages on regulated products and fraud prevention to the last mile. SEBI will also partner with state governments and local citizen channels. A common National Securities Market Awareness Curriculum, supported by the free SEBI Investor Awareness Test and the SEBI Investor Certification Examination run with NISM, will give all trainers the same basic framework that can be adapted for different audiences.
What Is a Finfluencer and Why Has SEBI Warned Against Them?
A finfluencer is a financial influencer who shares money or market related content on social media. SEBI has warned that many finfluencers are unregistered and earn through referrals or promotions, so their tips can be biased, misleading or part of pump and dump schemes.
SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey cautioned investors to use only regulated products, channels and entities. His advice was direct. Do not invest because someone told you to. Do not invest because everyone else is investing. Invest because you understand. Investors should stay away from anonymous tips on Telegram, WhatsApp and social handles, from unregistered finfluencers and from promises of unusually high, fixed or assured returns.
A SEBI registered investment adviser is a person or firm registered with SEBI and allowed to give personal investment advice for a fee after proper risk profiling. A SEBI registered research analyst is registered to prepare research reports. Registration numbers, contact details and grievance redress links must be shown clearly. SEBI has barred its regulated entities such as brokers and mutual funds from associating with unregistered finfluencers for promotion, and it has acted against groups that first bought shares and then pushed them through social media before selling. In May 2026, SEBI passed an interim order in one such case involving 82 stocks and alleged wrongful gains of about ₹20.25 crore.
SEBI has built verification tools for safety. SCORES 2.0, launched in April 2024, is the online system to lodge and track complaints against listed companies and registered intermediaries. SEBI Check lets an investor verify payment details of a registered intermediary before transferring money. PaRRVA, the Past Risk and Return Verification Agency launched in December 2025, allows verified past return claims to be checked through a standard method. Investors can also use the SEBI toll free helpline 1800 22 7575 and the official SEBI website, which uses the sebi.gov.in domain.
SEBI listed five safe habits for investors. Beware of frauds and use regulated entities. Invest only in products you understand. Start early and stay invested so compounding gets time. Diversify across products. Remember that a fixed return does not mean a risk free product.
The Way Forward
Project Jagrook will be judged on reach, not slogans. The test till March 2027 is whether messages in 13 languages, broker app pop ups, WhatsApp alerts, MUST trainers and panchayat partnerships can lift the rural participation rate of 6 percent and raise knowledge beyond 36 percent. The curriculum and free awareness test give SEBI a common scale to measure learning across colleges and villages.
Stronger verification will support the campaign. Wider use of SCORES 2.0, SEBI Check, validated UPI handles and PaRRVA verified returns can reduce dependence on forwarded tips. If brokers, AMFI, NISM, exchanges, depositories and state bodies keep the same simple content live after March 2027, the habit of checking registration before paying may become routine for first-time investors.
Key Takeaways
- Project Jagrook is SEBI’s nationwide investor awareness campaign launched in Chandigarh on 5 October 2026 and set to run till March 2027.
- SEBI stands for the Securities and Exchange Board of India, a statutory body under the SEBI Act, 1992 headquartered in Mumbai.
- SEBI’s Investor Survey 2025 found 63 percent awareness but only 9.5 percent participation, with urban participation at 15 percent and rural at 6 percent.
- Samajh Se Investing Simple is the free seven module learning programme under Project Jagrook with a total duration of about 3 hours 39 minutes.
- MUST stands for Mentoring of University and College Students through Trainers and trains teachers and senior students as Partner Trainers.
- Investors can file market complaints on SCORES 2.0 and verify intermediary payments through SEBI Check before transferring money.
