- SEBI’s consultation paper can be accessed here.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) released a consultation paper on June 23, 2026. It proposes a single Common Advertisement Code (CAC) to replace the separate advertising rules that currently bind seven types of market intermediaries. Comments close on July 14, 2026. The draft drops mandatory prior approval for most ads, treats influencers and virtual characters as celebrities, and bans dark patterns.
The code covers these SEBI-regulated entities. It applies to:
- Stock brokers and depository participants.
- Investment advisers and research analysts.
- Online bond platform providers and portfolio managers.
- Mutual funds, including asset management companies.
SEBI can add more entities later. Its definition of “advertisement” is wide enough to cover print, broadcast, digital, and outdoor media, and it names podcasts, streaming services, social media, and online news sites.
Prior approval gives way to 24-hour reporting. Brokers, bond platforms, advisers, and analysts currently need sign-off before they publish an ad. SEBI wants to end that requirement.
- Entities would upload each ad or its link to a central portal within 24 hours of running it.
- Mutual funds already work this way.
- Supervisory bodies, the stock exchanges, depositories and the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) would check ads after they run and flag violations to SEBI.
An ad would therefore reach investors before any regulator has seen it. SEBI says checking ads after they run protects investors as well as clearing them first does.
Finfluencers and virtual avatars now count as celebrities. Celebrity ads still need prior approval, and SEBI has widened who qualifies. Under the draft, a person counts as a celebrity if they fall into any one of these categories:
- Featured in the top 50 of any celebrity index published by a national publication, where the index is current or at most a year old.
- Played a lead role in any mainstream film, TV serial, TV show, or OTT web series.
- An influencer with more than 5 lakh followers or subscribers on any single social media handle across platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, or X.
- A sportsperson who has represented the national team or competed internationally in events such as the Olympics, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, or televised sports like cricket and kabaddi.
- Hosted or anchored a TV programme, such as a quiz, cooking, comedy, dance, or news show, for at least one season or 10 episodes.
- Won or finished as runner-up in a popular TV or OTT competitive show, or advanced through its qualifying rounds.
- A virtual character, meaning a fictional avatar with lifelike human traits that influences its audience.
- Anyone the Board or supervisory body considers capable of influencing viewers of an advertisement.
This builds on the enforcement action SEBI has pursued since 2024. It barred regulated…
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