After scrutiny of EdTech trading practices, SEBI proposes 30-day delay on market data

According to SEBI, the use of live or near-real-time data in the name of “education” carries the risk of becoming de-facto investment advice or research, activities that are subject to stricter regulation under the IA and RA norms. Stakeholders have flagged that access to one-day lag data is still too fresh and could be misused to influence investment decisions.

• SEBI proposes a uniform 30-day lag for sharing market price data for education
• Move aims to balance regulatory safeguards with effective investor education
• Proposal aims to stop misuse of data as investment advice or research

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Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has proposed a uniform 30 day time lag for the sharing and use of market price data for investor education and awareness, seeking to strike a balance between regulatory safeguards and the effectiveness of educational content.

Under the proposal, market infrastructure institutions (MIIs) and stock exchanges would be permitted to share price data for educational purposes only after a 30 day delay. Similarly, entities or individuals engaged solely in education would be allowed to use only such delayed data, provided the content remains purely educational and does not cross into investment advisory (IA) or research analyst (RA) activities.

The move aims to harmonise SEBI’s existing framework, which currently has differing timelines. A circular issued on May 24, 2024 allowed exchanges to share data for education with a one-day lag. However, a subsequent circular dated January 29, 2025 mandated that entities exclusively engaged in education could use only data older than three months, to ensure such content did not resemble investment advice or research. SEBI consultation paper said, "the two circulars can operate simultaneously, in order to give effect to stakeholder’s concerns, the objective of this consultation paper is to bring uniformity in time-lag for sharing and usage of price data solely for education and investor awareness purposes".

According to SEBI, the use of live or near-real-time data in the name of “education” carries the risk of becoming de-facto investment advice or research, activities that are subject to stricter regulation under the IA and RA norms. Stakeholders have flagged that access to one-day lag data is still too fresh and could be misused to influence investment decisions. SEBI consultation paper said, " Using live data for educational purpose is clearly outside the scope of pure educational activity as it involves analyzing current data to predict future prices, which falls under the definition of Investment Advisory (IA)/ Research Analyst (RA) activity".

At the same time, SEBI internally acknowledged that a three-month delay may dilute the relevance and learning value of educational material, particularly in fast-moving markets. Internally, the regulator has therefore favoured a 30-day lag as a middle ground, sufficiently distant to reduce misuse, yet recent enough to keep educational content meaningful and practical.

Experts view is regulation should be to fill the regulatory vacuum and should also be guided by the relevance of data, not by excessive delay. If market data is too recent, it risks being misused as advice; if it is too old, it loses meaning and fails to explain real market developments. Adv. Vijay Sardana, Techno-legal and Risk Management Expert, says " Investor education works best when learners can relate concepts to events they recognize. SEBI’s effort is important because it closes the grey area between education and advisory activity, but the time lag must be balanced and logical. A sensible duration will protect investors, fill the regulatory gap, and still allow meaningful understanding of how markets actually behave.”  SEBI has sought the views of stakeholder by January 27.

The proposal is part of SEBI’s broader effort to clearly demarcate investor education from regulated advisory and research activities.

The use of live market data for educational purposes came under regulatory scrutiny following SEBI’s recent action against certain educational institutions that were using such data for teaching. SEBI alleged that these activities were akin to those of Investment Advisers (IAs) and Research Analysts (RAs), as students were reportedly copying the trading calls demonstrated during the sessions.