“Do not invest because someone told you to,” says SEBI chief as regulator launches Project Jagruk

Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], October 5 (ANI): Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey on Monday urged investors to understand financial products and risks before putting their money into the markets as the regulator launched Project Jagruk, an investor awareness campaign aimed at improving financial literacy across the country.
“Do not invest because someone told you to. Do not invest because everyone else is investing. Invest because you understand,” Pandey said while launching the campaign in Chandigarh.
The SEBI Chairman said India's capital markets have become deeper, broader and more accessible over the last decade, with companies having more avenues to raise capital and households having a wider range of investment choices.
He said technology has also made access to the markets faster and easier, while more savers are moving towards market-linked investments and young Indians are entering the markets earlier.
However, Pandey said the expansion of the market has also created a new challenge, as it can become harder for new and potential investors to understand the products and risks involved.
He said a SEBI survey found that 63 per cent of households were aware of at least one securities market product, but only about 9.5 per cent participated in the market. Further, only 36 per cent of investors had high or moderate securities market knowledge.
The survey also highlighted a rural-urban gap in participation. While participation stood at 15 per cent in urban India, it was only 6 per cent in rural India.
Pandey said the findings showed the need to take investor education directly to people through the languages and platforms they use.
“Project Jagruk cannot be one language, one medium campaign,” he said, adding that the initiative would be rolled out in English, Hindi and 11 regional languages.
The campaign will use television, print, radio, cinema, outdoor media, digital platforms, social media, OTT, WhatsApp and physical engagement to reach investors.
Pandey said awareness of SEBI's investor-focused initiatives also remained low. Only 6 per cent of the survey sample knew about SEBI's grievance redressal mechanisms, although 88 per cent of those who had used them were satisfied with the outcome.
Project Jagruk brings SEBI, market infrastructure institutions, AMFI and NISM together under a coordinated investor education programme.
Pandey said different categories of investors require different forms of education and that the campaign would combine mass communication with content tailored for groups such as college students, first-time rural savers and retirees.
The first media campaign begins on Monday, and sustained communication will continue until March 2027.
For rural India, SEBI is working with the Ministry of Panchayati Raj to take financial literacy to the last mile. The initiative will also include outreach to universities and colleges, along with a National Securities Market Awareness curriculum and a free SEBI Investor Awareness test offered through NISM.
Pandey also advised investors to beware of investment frauds, use regulated products and entities, invest only in products they understand, start early, diversify and not mistake fixed returns for risk-free returns. (ANI)