Sebi pushes SEs, brokers to also use local languages

MUMBAI: Amid the government talks with global tech giants to let Indians have email IDs in their local language, markets regulator Sebi has directed all the intermediaries in the securities market to start communicating with the investors in vernacular languages, in addition to Hindi and English, which are already in use. To start with, Sebi has asked intermediaries that documents stating rights & obligations of brokers, disclosure about risks, and also do's and don'ts of stock trading should be available in 15 Indian languages.

All these documents should be available in Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu for the current and prospective investors in the market, Sebi said in a circular on Monday. These documents should also be available on the websites of the the intermediaries. "This move will help retail investors in better understanding of the securities market thereby facilitating financial inclusion," it said.

Sebi said that these documents were already available on the websites of NSE, BSE and Metropolitan Stock Exchange, and brokers have also been advised by the bourses to make these documents available to their clients. These documents are needed to "instil greater transparency and discipline in the dealings between the clients & the stock brokers," the regulator said.

Securities and Exchange Board of India ( SEBI )