mumbai, Oct. 3 -- A crisis of confidence is at the heart of many Indians' aversion to stocks, an investor survey commissioned by the market regulator found, tracing its roots to the limited success of various investor outreach programmes. The result: Many investors remain vulnerable and ignorant about their rights. The Securities and Exchange Board of India's (Sebi's) first such survey, conducted by research firm Kantar across 90,000 households across 400 cities and 1,000 villages, showed that a large number of investors exit the market following financial losses, while a staggering majority are ignorant of official channels for grievance redressal. The findings point to a glaring mismatch between investors' learning preferences and the methods currently employed for financial education. The demand for digital-first education is overwhelming, yet participation in official programmes is negligible. The survey indicates that 70% of respondents prefer receiving educational content via social media and 60% through mobile apps. Despite this, less than 1% of those surveyed have ever attended a formal Investor Education Programme. Even among this small group, only 21% found them "highly useful." Compounding the outreach challenge is a profound linguistic divide, with a combined 94% of respondents preferring materials in Hindi or other regional languages over English (5%). The content investors seek is not speculative, but protective. The top priority for 59% of respondents is learning to identify financial frauds and scams, followed by understanding risk management and investor rights, both cited by 44%. This underscores a demand for foundational knowledge that builds confidence and protects against market pitfalls. The consequences of this educational gap contribute to a significant number of "lapsers"-formerly active investors who stopped participating in the securities market for at least a year. The primary driver, cited by 84% of this group, is poor performance. According to Paramdeep Singh, founder of Long Tail Ventures, an investment firm, this suggests the industry is failing to properly manage investor expectations about market volatility. He explained that communication often emphasizes the upside without conditioning investors for drawdowns, causing disappointment when returns do not match the "straight-line" growth investors imagine....