The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has implemented an AI-powered system named Project SUDARSAN to monitor social media for fraudulent investment claims. Operational since November 2025, the system has identified over 20,000 instances of fraudulent content, including unregistered advice and impersonation of regulated entities, according to SEBI's Annual Report 2025-26.
Project SUDARSAN, which stands for Surveillance of Unauthorized Digital Activity via Real-time Scanner for Anti-fraud, uses multimodal AI to scan publicly available videos, messages, images, and advertisements across major social media platforms. It analyzes speech, visuals, regional-language content, and contextual information, combining these with behavioral and regulatory parameters to assign risk scores and generate alerts for further investigation, SEBI detailed in its report.
The deployment of SUDARSAN addresses growing concerns about fraudulent investment activities on social media, especially as SEBI's Investor Survey 2025 found that 62% of investors acknowledge the influence of financial influencers, or 'finfluencers.' The system targets content promising guaranteed returns, fake certifications, and unauthorized investment advice, marking a significant step in regulatory oversight amid increased digital investment activity.
SEBI's Project SUDARSAN became operational in November 2025 and has since flagged more than 20,000 suspicious posts, underscoring the regulator's commitment to protecting investors from digital fraud, as detailed in the Annual Report 2025-26.