The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), through a circular issued in July 2025, mandated that all regulated entities ensure digital accessibility of their platforms, websites, and investor-facing applications in compliance with the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (RPwD Act). The circular requires accessibility audits, periodic compliance reporting, and time-bound remediation plans from stock exchanges, depositories, brokers, and other market intermediaries.
Background
The RPwD Act, 2016, which replaced the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995, mandates that all public-facing services — including digital services — be accessible to persons with disabilities. While regulatory bodies have progressively applied these norms to physical infrastructure, the extension to digital platforms of financial intermediaries represents a significant regulatory development.
India's securities market has undergone rapid digitalisation, with a substantial majority of trading and investment activities now conducted through online platforms and mobile applications. However, accessibility features such as screen-reader compatibility, keyboard navigation, alternative text for visual content, and adjustable font sizes have not been uniformly implemented across market participants' digital interfaces.
Key Provisions
The SEBI circular establishes the following framework:
Universal applicability: The digital accessibility mandate applies to all SEBI-regulated entities, including stock exchanges, depositories, clearing corporations, stock brokers, depository participants, mutual fund houses, portfolio managers, and investment advisers.
Accessibility audit requirement: All regulated entities must conduct a comprehensive digital accessibility audit of their websites, trading platforms, and mobile applications. The audit must be carried out by a certified accessibility auditor or an empanelled agency.
Compliance reporting: Entities are required to submit accessibility audit reports to the relevant stock exchange or SEBI within a prescribed timeline. Periodic compliance certificates must be filed thereafter.
Remediation plans: Where audits reveal non-compliance, entities must prepare and implement a time-bound remediation plan. Critical accessibility gaps affecting core investor functions — such as account opening, trading, and grievance redressal — must be addressed on priority.
Monitoring by exchanges: Stock exchanges and depositories are directed to establish oversight mechanisms to verify compliance by their members and participants.
Implications for Practitioners
This circular creates a new compliance obligation for the entire spectrum of SEBI-regulated entities. Compliance officers and legal teams at brokerages, asset management companies, and other intermediaries must initiate accessibility audits promptly and budget for potential platform modifications.
For technology vendors and platform developers serving the financial sector, the mandate signals a need to integrate accessibility standards — such as WCAG 2.1 guidelines — into development workflows as a baseline requirement rather than an optional enhancement.
Legal practitioners advising market intermediaries should note that non-compliance may attract enforcement action under SEBI's existing inspection and penalty framework. Given the intersection of the RPwD Act and SEBI regulations, entities that fail to act may also face litigation under disability rights provisions independently of SEBI enforcement.