Approach to securities market data access and terms of usage of data provided by data sources in Indian securities market

CIRCULAR
SEBI/HO/DEPA-III/DEPA-III_SSU/P/CIR/2022/25 February 25, 2022 To All Recognized Stock Exchanges, Depositories, Stock Brokers through Recognized Stock Exchanges All Mutual Funds/ Asset Management Companies (AMCs), Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) All Registrars to an Issue & Share Transfer Agents All KYC Registration Agencies (KRAs) All Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) and Custodians All Credit Rating Agencies (CRAs), Debenture Trustees All Portfolio Managers All Merchant Bankers, Bankers to an Issue, Underwriters All Alternative Investment Funds(AIFs) All Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) All Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs) All Venture Capital Funds (VCFs) and Foreign Venture Capital Investors (FVCI) All Research Analysts and Investment Advisors Any other intermediary registered/to be registered with SEBI Dear Sir/Madam, Subject – Approach to securities market data access and terms of usage of data provided by data sources in Indian securities market

1. Financial markets are traditionally data rich and data driven. With ever growing financial
   markets, the volume and variety of data have also increased manifold over the years and will continue to do so. With increasing size and complexity of financial markets, addressing information asymmetry and having adequately informed investors and multiple stakeholders in the market cannot be overemphasised.
2. Further, given the large variety and volume of information in the markets, the value added
   service providers also have a crucial role to play in making such information available to the stakeholders in a more comprehendible forms.
3. Therefore, in order to further enhance the quantum as well as the ease of accessibility and
   usability of data disseminated in public by various data sources in Indian securities market, including the MIIs (Stock and Commodity Exchanges, Clearing Corporations and Depositories etc.), SEBI, through its Market Data Advisory Committee (MDAC), reviewed

the extent of free access and usage of data being provided in the public domain or otherwise by the respective sources of data in Indian securities market.
4. In this regard, the regulatory intent behind public dissemination of data in a disclosure based
regulatory regime was deliberated in detail by MDAC. Accordingly, keeping in view the deliberations and recommendations of MDAC on this issue, all market intermediaries including the other data sources in Indian securities markets are advised to make note of the following:
“As far as the data provided by various data sources in Indian securities markets pursuant to regulatory mandates for reporting and disclosure in public domain are concerned, such data should be made available to users, ‘free of charge’ both for ‘viewing’ the data as also for download in the format as specified by regulatory mandate for reporting, as well as their usage for the value addition purposes.”
5. Further, apart from the data made available free of cost, data which is chargeable should
be appropriately identified as such in public domain.
6. The provisions of this circular shall come into force with immediate effect.
7. This circular is being issued in exercise of powers conferred under Section 11(1) of the
Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992, to protect the interests of investors in securities and to promote the development of, and to regulate, the securities market.
8. This circular is available on SEBI website at www.sebi.gov.in under the category "Circulars".
Yours faithfully,
Prabhas Kumar Rath
General Manager
Department of Economic and Policy Analysis
Tel No. 022-26449772
E-mail: prabhasr@sebi.gov.in