'Sudarshan', SEBI's answer to fake analysts misguiding investors; market guru Anil Singhvi weighs in

Capital market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Wednesday launched 'Sudarshan', an AI-powered market surveillance system aimed at detecting fraudsters who pose as registered financial analysts and investment advisors to mislead the public on social networks and other platforms. The development confirms a Zee Business newsbreak. The channel was the first to report that the regulator was set to launch such an initiative to battle the menace of fake analysts and advisors.

The market regulator has been cracking the whip against miscreants and fraudsters using technology to dupe retail investors of their hard-earned money.

Sudarshan is an advanced digital tracking system that will detect such instances using the latest technology, including AI.

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EDITOR'S TAKE | Market guru Anil Singhvi welcomes SEBI's 'Sudarshan'

Investors often fall prey to entities that create fake IDs by making subtle alterations to registered analysts’ profiles, said Zee Business Managing Editor Anil Singhvi, welcoming SEBI’s initiative.

In many cases, users don't double-check these IDs with SEBI for authenticity and end up trusting these profiles, he said.

SEBI's strict action is the need of the hour, he said. "People have been running all sorts of services... Such steps will enable investors to distinguish between a registered and certified advisor, and a fraudster," he said.

The regulator offers an online facility on its portal that enables investors to verify registered investment advisors.

Commendable move: Kunal Saraogi on SEBI's AI-powered digital tracking system

Describing Sudarshan as a "brilliant move", market analyst Kunal Saraogi said: "Sometimes, fraudsters use AI-created videos to replicate registered analysts' looks and even their style of speaking."

The rollout of the innovative, AI-powered tool followed the release of a consultation paper on guidelines for the responsible use of AI and machine learning in the domestic securities markets.

The regulator had proposed an initiative to regulate AI and ML applications used by market participants for compliance, surveillance, trading and advisory purposes.