FPI debt investment rules revised, permitting shorter maturities and reshaping concentration and monitoring obligations.
SEBI removed the three year minimum residual maturity for G Secs and SDLs and transferred monitoring of those instruments to CCIL; for corporate debt FPIs may invest in instruments with residual maturity above one year while limiting short term holdings to 20% of corporate bond portfolios on an end of day basis. New concentration rules apply with caps on holdings per issue and per corporate, transitional relaxations for existing positions, custodians and depositories are responsible for monitoring and reporting breaches, pipeline investments may be exempt if certain conditions are met, and partly paid debt instruments are prohibited.

Deliverable supply-driven position limits required; exchanges must disclose supply data and revise limits per prescribed annual timeline.
Exchanges must jointly determine deliverable supply, classify agricultural commodities, and compute client and market position limits annually tied to deliverable supply, revising numerical limits only when changes are at least 5%. Exchanges shall publish five year average and current year deliverable supply, data sources, classification and numerical limits in the prescribed annexure format, notify SEBI in advance, complete notification by 31 July (unless extended) and make revised limits applicable to all running contracts from 1 September. Members must be informed, bye laws amended as needed, and implementation status communicated to the regulator.

Aadhaar and PAN requirement for client accounts affirmed; securities market continues to require PAN for completion of KYC processes.
The PML amendments require collection of Aadhaar and PAN or Form 60 for client accounts and clarify acceptable OVDs and certified copies for address proof, with an extension of the submission deadline pending final adjudication. SEBI emphasizes that PAN remains mandatory to complete KYC in the securities market and directs exchanges, depositories, mutual funds and other intermediaries to amend rules, monitor compliance through half yearly audits and inspections, and report implementation to SEBI.

Withdrawal of credit ratings requires issuer undertaking and reassignment with press release stating reasons under SEBI rules.
Amendment sets conditions for a CRA to withdraw a rating under Regulation 16(3): continuous rating for the higher of five years or half the instrument's tenure and an undertaking from the issuer that a rating is available. On withdrawal the CRA must assign a rating and issue a press release in the prescribed SEBI format stating the reason(s) for withdrawal, pursuant to powers under Section 11(1) of the SEBI Act and Regulation 20 of the CRA Regulations to protect investors and regulate the securities market.

Digital disclosure and delivery of NAVs and portfolio statements mandated, with online hosting and opt-in physical reporting options.
Mutual Funds/AMCs must adopt digital-first disclosures: publish NAVs and portfolio statements (with ISINs) on their and AMFI's websites, offer SMS/email delivery to registered unitholders, explain sale/repurchase price methodology with a numerical example, host scheme-wise annual reports online and email them to registered addresses, implement opt-in procedures for physical annual reports for unregistered email holders with a follow-up communication, advertise hosting and request modes in national newspapers, provide physical copies free on request, and update unitholder contact details; compliance required within thirty days except for the second opt-in timing rule.

Total Expense Ratio disclosure tightened: lower allowable additional charges and mandatory daily scheme-wise TER publication.
Amendment reduces the permissible additional expense referenced in prior circulars to a lower specified rate, and requires AMCs to disclose scheme-wise, date-wise TER daily on their website and the industry website in a downloadable spreadsheet showing base TER (excluding specified additional expenses and GST), each additional expense component and GST. Any increase in base TER must be communicated to investors by email or SMS and posted on the TER section of the website at least three working days before effecting the change; decreases due to regulatory requirements need not be preceded by notice.

Preferential issue of InvIT units: rules for eligibility, placement document disclosures, pricing floor, allotment and transfer limits.
Guidelines require a listed InvIT to obtain unitholder approval, comply with listing and minimum public unitholding requirements, and avoid another preferential issue within six months; allotments must be completed within a prescribed short period, units issued in dematerialized form and of the same class as listed units, offered to a minimum of two institutional investors, and priced at not less than the average recent market price on the principal exchange. The preferential issue must be effected through a serially numbered placement document with specific market, valuation, financial and disclosure requirements and accompanied by a compliance certificate when seeking exchange approval.

Master Circular: consolidated rules for broker registration, KYC/CKYCR onboarding and enhanced fund-monitoring and system-audit requirements.
SEBI's Master Circular consolidates requirements for stock broker registration, uniform client onboarding via UCC/KYC/CKYCR (including SARAL AOF and Aadhaar/e-KYC on voluntary consent), and a risk-based supervisory regime requiring periodic internal/system audits, naming/tagging and reporting of bank/demat accounts, routine uploads of client fund and securities balances, automated reconciliation alerts to detect client fund misuse, and detailed controls for algorithmic trading, software change management, BCP/DR and auditor rotation.

Independent review of issuer-requested rating appeals required; CRAs must publish non-accepted ratings and half yearly disclosures.
CRAs must have an independent majority Rating Committee to review issuer requests for rating review, publish non accepted ratings on their websites in a prescribed format, and upload a segregated half yearly Rating Summary Sheet for securities and non securities. SEBI has modified existing disclosure formats, re timed defaults reporting to a half yearly basis, required presentation of debt weighted default rates using weighted averaging, and mandated internal audit verification with specified auditor qualifications.

System-driven disclosures expand automated reporting to non-promoter and director/employee holdings, enabling daily exchange dissemination and reconciliation processes.
System-driven disclosures are extended to cover non-promoter disclosures under Regulation 29(1) and 29(2) of the Substantial Acquisition regime and Regulation 7(2) disclosures for directors and specified employees under the Insider Trading regime; CEOs and up to two levels below CEO are deemed employees for this purpose, scheduled commercial banks and public financial institutions acting as pledgees are excluded from the pledge disclosure requirement, and depositories and exchanges must standardise, tag, aggregate and share ISIN-level holdings data so that designated depositories process and forward disclosures daily to stock exchanges for website dissemination.

Segregated nominee account structure in IFSC requires end client identification, UCC use, client level margining and reporting obligations.
Permits a Segregated Nominee Account Structure in IFSC allowing eligible Providers to route foreign investor orders subject to registration and exchange laid eligibility norms; requires Provider due diligence, end client KYC/AML, assignment and use of a Unique Client Code for order entry, end client level margin computation with gross collection from Providers, Provider level margin reporting, monitoring of end client position limits, and exchange obligations to amend rules, implement systems and share trade and KYC information as requested.

Investment in AAA foreign sovereign securities allowed for IFSC clearing corporations, subject to a prescribed cap on investible resources.
Clearing corporations in the IFSC may invest their own funds, excluding the Core Settlement Guarantee Fund, in AAA rated Foreign Sovereign Securities, subject to a ceiling not to exceed ten percent of total investible resources (excluding Core Settlement Guarantee Fund). The circular supplements existing permitted investments-fixed deposits, central government securities and liquid debt mutual fund schemes-by authorising this additional instrument for own funds.

Monitoring of foreign investment limits - system operational from June 1; companies must submit required data by May 25.
SEBI extends the deadline for listed companies to provide required data to the depositories to May 25, 2018, and sets the new system for monitoring foreign investment limits to become operational on June 01, 2018; custodians must notify FPI clients and the circular is issued under Section 11(1).

Underwriters: SEBI master circular consolidates registration, reporting, SCORES grievance procedures, outsourcing and conflict of interest rules.
Master Circular consolidates SEBI directives for underwriters up to March 31, 2018 and prescribes conditions for group entity registration, mandatory half yearly electronic reporting of status or constitution changes, single window prior approval procedures for change in control, mandatory use of the SEBI Intermediary Portal for registration related filings, designated e mail IDs for regulatory and grievance communications, SCORES enrolment and complaint handling with 30 day ATR upload obligations, prevention of unauthenticated news circulation, and detailed outsourcing and conflict of interest principles.

Board evaluation disclosures should report current and prior observations with actions, and governance for large subsidiary groups.
Listed entities must enhance board evaluation disclosures to state current observations, prior-year observations and actions taken, and proposed actions; where there are many unlisted subsidiaries, entities may monitor governance through a dedicated group governance unit or Governance Committee and adopt a group governance policy at the board's discretion; entities are encouraged to disclose medium and long term strategy in the Management Discussion and Analysis and to set long term metrics; clause 4.4 of the earlier SEBI circular dated May 27, 2016 is deleted.

Trading hours on stock exchanges allowed to align equity derivative sessions with commodity hours subject to risk management and approval.
Stock exchanges may set Equity Derivatives trading hours to align with Commodity Derivatives provided the exchange and its clearing corporation maintain risk management systems and infrastructure commensurate with extended hours. Any proposal to extend trading beyond the permitted hours must obtain prior regulatory approval and include a detailed framework for risk management, settlement, position monitoring, manpower, system capability, and surveillance. The measure takes effect from the stated implementation date and is issued under statutory powers to protect investors and regulate the market.

Trading suspension procedures: uniform fines, promoter holding freezes and a trade-for-trade pathway leading to delisting for persistent non-compliance.
Recognized stock exchanges must impose specified fines for enumerated Listing Regulation breaches, display actions taken publicly and, if fines remain unpaid after notice, instruct depositories to freeze the entire shareholding and other dematerialised securities of the promoter and promoter group. For specified recurring defaults exchanges shall move the scrip to "Z" category for trade-for-trade settlement, give prior public notice, and may suspend trading after notice; upon compliance and payment exchanges will revoke suspension and direct unfreezing after prescribed intervals, while persistent non-compliance may initiate compulsory delisting.

Margin requirements for derivatives: compulsory client margin components defined and liquid net worth computation clarified.
SEBI requires Clearing Members and Trading Members to collect and report client margins for Equity Derivatives including initial margin, exposure margin/extreme loss margin, calendar spread margin and mark-to-market settlements, with Exchanges/Clearing Corporations able to prescribe additional margins. For equity derivatives, liquid net worth of a clearing member is to be computed by deducting initial margin and exposure margin/extreme loss margin from its liquid assets. Exchanges and Clearing Corporations must update systems and rules, notify members, publish the circular, and report implementation to SEBI.

Credit Rating Agency compliance: SEBI consolidates standards for registration, rating process, disclosures, audits and conflict management.
SEBI's master circular compiles operative requirements for Credit Rating Agencies, mandating online registration and digital payments, prior approval for change in control and prescribed surrender procedures; standardized rating symbols and an Operations Manual detailing rating criteria, default recognition, committee governance and conflict of interest policies; mandatory rating agreements, monthly No Default Statements, standardized press releases and timelines for review and dissemination; extensive periodic and continuous disclosure obligations including default studies and income reporting; half yearly independent internal audits with rotation and expanded scope; investor grievance registration on SEBI's SCORES platform; and strict principles governing outsourcing and confidentiality.

Monitoring of foreign investment limits: companies given extended deadline to submit data before new monitoring system goes live.
Companies must provide prescribed data to depositories by May 15, 2018, and SEBI's new centralized monitoring system for foreign investment limits will be made operational on May 18, 2018; custodians, depositories, stock exchanges and FPIs are directed to act on these timelines.