SEBI Enacts Standardized 30-Day Delay for Market Data Access by Educational Institutions

Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) Clarifies Market Data Regulations

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has introduced a 30-day lag on the sharing and use of market data for educational purposes, ending a year-long regulatory confusion. This change is set to come into effect from 1 July 2026.

The confusion stemmed from two circulars that appeared to set different timelines for sharing and using market data. In a circular issued in May 2024, Sebi prohibited market infrastructure institutions (MIIs) and intermediaries, including stock exchanges, from sharing price data for educational purposes with a delay of less than one day. Months later, in a separate 2025 circular, the regulator tightened the framework further by mandating a three-month lag for the use of such data in investor education and awareness programmes.

The inconsistency between the two timelines resurfaced during hearings before the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) in the Avadhut Sathe matter. In an ex parte interim order passed in December, Sebi barred Sathe and his firm, Avadhut Sathe Trading Academy (ASTA), from the securities market and ordered the impounding of ₹546.16 crore, alleging that the institute was operating unregistered investment advisory and research analyst services disguised as stock market education.

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To support its case, Sebi cited multiple instances in which Sathe allegedly used market data to make stock recommendations. Before SAT, the appellants contended that the differing timelines prescribed under the two circulars had created a “regulatory vacuum”, resulting in confusion over the permissible delay for the use of live market data.

The circular came after a consultation process that began in January, suggesting a 30-day lag for the sharing and use of market data. In the circular, Sebi said the two previous circulars addressed different aspects of market data usage. While the 2024 circular permitted exchanges to share price data for educational purposes with a one-day lag, the 2025 circular addressed how old the data must be to qualify for purely educational use, prescribing a three-month delay.

Sebi received feedback from stakeholders that a one-day lag for sharing price data was too short and left scope for misuse, while the three-month delay made the data far less useful for educational purposes. The regulator, however, carved out an exception for the National Institute of Securities Markets (NISM), Sebi’s training and capacity-building arm. The NISM will continue to have access to market price data with a one-day lag for use in its simulation lab, given its role in conducting Sebi-mandated certification programmes and training market intermediaries and regulatory officials.

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