Mumbai, March 9 -- The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has introduced a voluntary debit freeze facility for mutual fund folios to strengthen investor security.

The feature will allow investors to lock their holdings and prevent any debit transactions such as redemptions or transfers. The circular will take effect from 30 April 2026.

The facility will apply to both demat and non-demat mutual fund folios. Investors will initially be able to activate the lock through the MF Central platform. Once activated, no units can be redeemed or transferred until the folio is unlocked by the investor.

MF Central is an industry platform jointly managed by Computer Age Management Services and KFin Technologies. The feature will initially...