New Delhi: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is planning to start an investor education drive from November 15 onwards to cover about 500 centres spread across the country in a year's time.

The formal announcement of the investors awareness programme is likely to be made by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on November 15 after which the regulator would start the scheme, SEBI executive director R M Joshi told reporters after a seminar on depositories on September 28.

He said that SEBI targets to cover 500 centres through its nation-wide drive in a year's time including 400 centres that are having NSE terminals.

"The investor education drive will be carried out in all 22 stock exchanges. We will cover smaller centres first starting with Kochi," Joshi said.

The investor education drive is part of SEBI's efforts to build awareness among the masses about the capital market including the risk involved and the positive aspects.

SEBI has asked depository participants, which are responsible for dealing with demat shares of investors, to assist it in the drive.

The regulator is also involving the industry chambers and other organisations related to the investing community.

The drive comes also after the series of scams in the capital market that has led to severe depletion in investors' confidence on the equity market, the market intermediaries and even the regulator.

To prevent occurrence of more scams, government and SEBI have also drawn up plans to corporatise bourses, which would bar brokers from intervening in the management of the exchanges.

PTI