The agreement was formalised in the presence of senior officials from both institutions, with the MoU signed by Sanjeev Sharma, DDG (AI&DIU), DoT, and Sandip Pradhan, Whole Time Member at SEBI.
At the core of this collaboration is DoT’s Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP), a secure, real-time information-sharing system designed to tackle cybercrime and financial fraud. The platform enables coordination among stakeholders and allows proactive action against the misuse of telecom infrastructure.
Under the MoU, Sebi and DoT will regularly exchange data and intelligence to detect and prevent fraudulent activities in the securities market. The move is expected to enhance regulatory oversight, improve early detection of scams, and create a more robust enforcement framework.
The agreement, which comes into effect immediately, marks a significant step towards deeper inter-agency cooperation, leveraging technology to safeguard investors and strengthen market integrity.
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In addition, the Mobile Number Revocation List (MNRL) will be shared automatically, allowing SEBI-regulated entities such as brokers and asset management companies to ensure that investor accounts are linked only to active and valid mobile numbers.
In a reciprocal arrangement, SEBI will share inputs on telecom resources associated with accounts involved in cyber fraud, impersonation, and money mule activities, enabling timely action from the telecom side.The intelligence exchange will be facilitated through DoT’s Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP), which connects more than 1400 stakeholders and enables real-time sharing of actionable information across institutions.
According to the Ministry of Communications, the collaboration is particularly significant in the context of India’s rapidly expanding digital investment ecosystem. By integrating telecom intelligence with financial market surveillance, the initiative aims to shift from a reactive enforcement approach to a more proactive prevention framework.
The Financial Fraud Risk Indicator, which draws inputs from DoT’s Chakshu facility under Sanchar Saathi, financial institutions, and law enforcement agencies, will act as an early warning system to flag potentially fraudulent mobile connections before they are used for scams.
The partnership builds on existing initiatives under Sanchar Saathi, through which more than 88 lakh fraudulent mobile connections have already been disconnected using ASTR. The deployment of FRI has also helped prevent financial losses of approximately Rs 2300 crore in the past ten months.
Going forward, the MoU will enable the development of standard operating procedures for coordinated action and facilitate institutional sharing of red-flag indicators, with the aim of strengthening investor protection and enhancing trust in India’s digital and financial ecosystem.
Inputs from ANI
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