Investor emergency access platform enables investors to close positions and cancel orders when member trading services are disrupted.
A contingency platform, Investor Risk Reduction Access (IRRA), will be developed by exchanges to permit investors to square off open positions and cancel pending orders across segments and exchanges when a Trading Member's trading services are disrupted; IRRA is enabled on TM request or suo moto by exchanges, requires investor authentication via UCC or PAN plus OTP, prohibits actions that increase investor risk, provides an Admin Terminal for TMs to monitor and act on investor instructions with retained evidence, leaves settlement and margin obligations with the TM, and requires exchanges to provide reverse migration, testing, guidelines and member communications.

ISIN allocation guidance: changes to security alone do not trigger a new ISIN when core issuance terms remain unchanged.
Clarification states that changes to the underlying security, creation of additional security, or creation of security for unsecured debt do not require a new ISIN provided core issuance terms (maturity, coupon, face value, redemption schedule or nature of the instrument) remain unchanged; Depositories shall not assign a new ISIN in such cases, and debenture trustees must ensure regulatory compliance when the underlying security changes.

Foreign Portfolio Investors master circular sets registration, KYC, investment limit monitoring, ODI issuance and reporting rules.
Master Circular consolidates SEBI guidelines for FPIs, DDPs and EFIs: it prescribes registration and continuance procedures, DDP due diligence and reporting, KYC and beneficial ownership identification and periodic review, segregation and reclassification rules, ODI issuance, hedging and reporting requirements, and detailed investment limit monitoring including red flag activation, breach handling, proportional disinvestment timelines and market specific position/auction/margining frameworks.

Orderly winding down framework for clearing corporations mandates SOPs, resource retention, transfer/close out procedures and regulatory oversight.
Policy mandates board approved SOPs for orderly winding down of clearing corporations' critical operations upon voluntary, involuntary or regulatory triggers; identifies core functions to be maintained, procedures for transfer or close out of positions in interoperable and non interoperable scenarios, continued application of regulatory provisions during wind down, asset distribution subject to statutory dues and regulator contributions, maintenance and use of liquid resources to sustain critical services during wind down, and oversight by the Regulatory Oversight Committee with reporting to the regulator.

Performance benchmarking: portfolio managers must tag each investment approach to one strategy and select a prescribed benchmark.
Portfolio managers must tag each Investment Approach (IA) to one Strategy from Equity, Debt, Hybrid or Multi Asset, select one prescribed benchmark per IA from up to three benchmarks prescribed by APMI, and ensure board oversight. Changes to Strategy or benchmark require offering subscribers an exit without exit load, prohibition on using prior track record for reporting, documented justification and verification in the annual audit under Regulation 30.

Principles of Financial Market Infrastructures applicability extends to AMC Repo Clearing Limited, imposing PFMI compliance obligations immediately.
The circular applies the Principles of Financial Market Infrastructures (PFMIs) to AMC Repo Clearing Limited, noting that regulatory amendments enabling limited purpose clearing corporations and the formal recognition of AMC Repo Clearing Limited for repo and reverse repo in debt securities bring it within the PFMI compliance regime. The directive is effective immediately and is issued under SEBI's regulatory powers to protect investors and promote market development.

Scheme of Arrangement exclusion for intercompany transfers clarified; draft scheme still to be filed and disclosed.
The earlier circular will not apply to a scheme solely between a debt listed entity and its unlisted wholly owned subsidiary; however, the debt listed entity must file the draft Scheme of Arrangement with the Stock Exchange(s) for disclosure and the Stock Exchange(s) shall disseminate the scheme documents on their websites.

Foreign investor eligibility limits onboarding and suspends further capital drawdowns unless compliance is promptly restored.
At onboarding, AIF managers must ensure foreign investors are residents of jurisdictions whose securities regulator is an IOSCO MMoU signatory or has a bilateral MoU with SEBI, except government or government-related investors approved by the Government of India; investors and underlying contributors of twenty-five percent or more, or those identified by control, must not be on the UN Security Council Sanctions List or residents of jurisdictions in the FATF public statement for strategic AML/CFT deficiencies. If an on-boarded investor later fails these conditions, the manager must not drawdown further capital until compliance is restored.

Standardized industry classification implementation extended for credit rating agencies to accommodate CRA representations and ensure compliance.
Extension of the applicability date for implementation of a standardized industry classification by registered credit rating agencies is granted following representations from CRAs; the circular invokes SEBI's regulatory powers under applicable Act and Regulations to protect investors and regulate the securities market, and is directed to all CRAs and recognised stock exchanges with departmental contact details for queries.

Net settlement of cash and F&O upon expiry enables merged settlement, reducing delivery obligations and post expiry margin needs.
Net Settlement requires that cash market settlement obligations and physical settlement obligations of expiring stock derivatives be settled on a net basis, producing a single net obligation where eligible. Netting is available only when trading and clearing for cash and F&O are through the same TM CM combination; institutional investors and transactions cleared through different clearing members or clearing corporations are excluded. Statutory levies such as Securities Transaction Tax and stamp duty remain computed and reported segment wise. Clearing corporations retain segment wise default waterfalls and compute default losses pro rata by segment.

Equity ETF eligibility for Margin Trading Facility expands collateral, margin and funding rules under regulatory amendment
Units of Equity Exchange Traded Funds classified as Group I securities are permitted as eligible securities and as collateral under the Margin Trading Facility. Initial margin formulas are specified with higher multipliers for non F&O Group I stocks and Equity ETFs; margins may be posted as cash, cash equivalents, Group I equity shares or Group I Equity ETF units subject to SEBI haircuts. Brokers must segregate collateral and funded positions, adopt board approved diversification policies, follow prescribed disclosure formats for daily reporting, and use only specified funding sources for MTF.

Listing timelines for privately placed securities shortened to standardize pre listing steps and accelerate ISIN activation and trading.
Standardizes timelines for private placement issuance and listing of specified debt securities, requiring issuers to obtain in principle approval before providing placement materials or opening the issue. Prescribed stepwise actions cover bidding/issue, ISIN allocation, settlement and listing, with listing and ISIN activation required within three working days of issue closure. Depositories activate ISINs only after exchange listing approval and must use temporary frozen ISINs for re issuances until listing is confirmed. Issuers face penal interest for delays; exchanges and depositories must update systems and communicate requirements.

Credit risk based single issuer limit introduced for mutual fund schemes, imposing rating-tiered exposure caps with limited relaxations.
A credit risk based single issuer limit mandates that mutual fund schemes' investments in debt and money market instruments be capped according to issuer credit rating tiers, with a limited board approved extension allowed subject to the overall regulatory ceiling; long term ratings govern money market exposures with conservative mapping where absent, government money market instruments treated as government securities, new schemes covered from issuance and existing schemes grandfathered until underlying maturities.

Prior approval for change in control: intermediaries must apply online with fit and proper declarations before effecting control change.
Intermediaries specified by SEBI must obtain prior approval for any change in control by filing an online application through the SEBI Intermediary Portal with prescribed disclosures and a stamped declaration from the intermediary and proposed acquirer confirming compliance with fit and proper person criteria, non change of the incumbent board until approval, commitment to honour past liabilities and resolve investor complaints; certain intermediaries must also submit exchange/clearing/depository approvals and, where change arises from a tribunal sanctioned scheme, an in principle approval process and subsequent submission of the tribunal order and approved scheme are required for final approval.

Technical glitch framework requires immediate reporting and detailed RCA, plus capacity, testing, monitoring and DR obligations.
Prescribes a regulatory framework requiring immediate notification to exchanges, a next-day preliminary incident report, and a detailed Root Cause Analysis within fourteen days for any defined technical glitch. Mandates capacity planning, robust software testing and change management, API-based logging and monitoring by exchanges, and business continuity/disaster recovery arrangements including geographically separated DR sites and periodic full-day DR drills. Exchanges will publish incidents and RCAs, issue implementation guidelines, and impose financial disincentives for glitches and non-compliance.

Extension of implementation timelines: SEBI deferred two circulars and directed exchanges and depositories to notify and amend rules.
SEBI deferred the effective dates of two operational circulars: the Demat Debit and Pledge Instruction circular to take effect on or before January 20, 2023, and the Validation of Pay In Instructions circular to take effect from January 27, 2023. The earlier provisions are modified accordingly. Stock Exchanges and Depositories must notify members, amend bye laws/rules for implementation, and report implementation status to SEBI within seven working days after implementation and in Monthly Development Reports.

Timelines for dividend and redemption transfers set firm payment periods and interest for delays borne by AMCs.
Amendments fix timelines for transfers: dividends are to be paid within seven working days from a record date set two working days after public notice; redemption or repurchase proceeds must be transferred within three working days, with an extended five working day period for schemes predominantly invested in prescribed overseas investments. AMFI will publish exceptional circumstances and applicable extended time frames. Interest for delay is payable to unitholders at the prescribed annual rate and borne by AMCs, with payment details to be reported to SEBI in the prescribed compliance format and communicated to investors.

Reporting of OTC trades required in uniform format; compliance mandated for all persons dealing in non-convertible securities.
The circular mandates reporting of OTC trades in listed non-convertible securities by all persons dealing in such securities, irrespective of registration status, in a specified uniform format. The required fields include deal type, security and issuer details, coupon, traded price, trade yield with yield type selected at reporting, trade value in face value terms, trade date and time, settlement details and an end-of-day updated settlement status. Stock Exchanges must monitor compliance and report discrepancies to SEBI.

Green debt security: issuers of municipal debt must follow green-debt provisions and ongoing compliance requirements.
Issuers of municipal debt securities may issue instruments that qualify as green debt security if they meet the definition in Regulation 2(1)(q) of the NCS Regulations. Such issuers must comply with ILMDS Regulations and the additional provisions, initial and continuous disclosure requirements, and compliance obligations for green debt security as specified under the NCS Regulations and related circulars. Stock Exchanges and Depositories must update rules and systems, disseminate the circular, report implementation to SEBI and monitor compliance.

Priority distribution model in AIFs barred from fresh commitments pending regulatory review, restricting new investments.
Funds using a priority distribution model-where one investor class receives distribution priority causing another class to bear losses greater than pro rata to their holdings-are temporarily prohibited from accepting fresh commitments or investing in new investee companies pending regulatory review and consultation, under the regulator's Section 11(1) powers to protect investor interests.