DigiLocker integration for investor holdings enables nominee notification and access to prevent unidentified unclaimed assets.
The circular directs AMCs (and RTAs) and Recognised Depositories to register with DigiLocker as issuers to enable investors to fetch holding statements, recent transaction statements and consolidated account statements into DigiLocker; KRAs must electronically share verified instances of investor demise and death-certificate information with DigiLocker to update user status and notify DigiLocker nominees, who may access fetched financial statements after authentication, while transmission norms for mutual fund folios and demat accounts remain unchanged.

Social Stock Exchange minimum application size for Zero Coupon Zero Principal Instruments reduced to Rs. 1,000.
The circular amends the SSE issuance condition for Zero Coupon Zero Principal Instruments by reducing the minimum application size from rupees ten thousand to rupees one thousand, replacing the earlier provision with: "(4) The minimum application size shall be rupees one thousand." The amendment is issued under the regulator's statutory powers and is effective immediately as part of the existing SSE framework.

Rights issue timelines shortened; exchanges must validate bids and enable automated validation for faster allotment.
Rights issues must be completed within 23 working days from Board approval; issues must remain open between seven and thirty days. Annexure I sets a detailed timeline from Board approval through RE credit, dispatch of letter of offer, bid validation by Stock Exchanges, Depositories and Registrars, issue closure, reconciliation, allotment, fund transfers, listing and commencement of trading. Stock Exchanges and Depositories must develop an automated investor application validation system within six months. ASBA procedures and the roles of SCSBs, Stock Exchanges and RTAs for public issues apply mutatis mutandis to rights issues. Consequential amendments to the Master Circular and filing procedures are prescribed.

AIF differential rights reporting extended to allow additional time for affected funds to comply with one time filing.
SEBI has extended the one-time reporting deadline for AIFs that filed PPMs on or after March 1, 2020 and have issued differential rights not meeting Standard Setting Forum implementation standards; affected AIFs must submit the prescribed information to SEBI by the extended date, the extension taking immediate effect under SEBI's statutory powers to protect investors and regulate the securities market.

Nomination framework for securities accounts updated with joint-holder transmission rules, opt-out flexibility, and clearer KYC safeguards.
SEBI amended and clarified the nomination framework for demat accounts and mutual fund folios, covering joint holdings, opt-out of nomination, nominee operation during physical incapacitation, transmission requirements, and updated nomination-form disclosures. It clarified that assets in joint accounts are to be transmitted to surviving joint holders by name deletion, that fresh KYC cannot be insisted upon as a precondition for such transmission unless previously sought and not furnished, and that surviving holders may update key contact and banking details. The circular also introduced the treatment of odd lots, passport number acceptance for NRI, OCI and PIO holders, phased implementation, and reporting obligations for AMFI and Depositories.

KPI disclosure standards require issuers and merchant bankers to adopt industry standards for offer document disclosures.
Requirement to disclose Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in draft offer documents and offer documents is standardized through industry-developed benchmarks. Issuer companies and merchant bankers are directed to follow these standards to meet KPI disclosure obligations under the offering regulations, and stock exchanges and industry associations must publish and circulate the standards to ensure awareness and compliance.

Specialized Investment Funds regulatory framework introduces eligibility routes, investment and derivative limits, disclosure, listing and risk banding requirements.
The circular prescribes a regulatory framework for Specialized Investment Funds (SIF), detailing eligibility routes for registered mutual funds/AMCs, mandatory brand differentiation, permitted equity, debt and hybrid investment strategies with specified redemption frequencies, a minimum investment threshold per investor with monitoring and breach treatment, issuer and sector limits for debt, quantified limits and computation rules for derivative exposure including portfolio offsetting and an overall gross exposure cap, mandatory listing for close ended and interval strategies, benchmarking principles, comprehensive disclosure requirements and a five level Risk Band with monthly evaluation and public disclosure.

Deployment timelines for NFO funds: AMCs must deploy collected monies within prescribed period or face flow and fee restrictions.
AMCs must declare and adhere to achievable timelines for deployment of NFO proceeds per scheme asset allocation, deploy funds within the prescribed period from allotment, and, if unable to do so, place written reasons and mitigation efforts before the Investment Committee which may grant a single extension after examining root causes. Trustees shall monitor deployment; non-compliance leads to prohibition on fresh inflows into the scheme until deployment aligns with the SID, mandatory investor communication offering exit without exit load, and reporting of deviations. Distributor commission on switches into NFOs from schemes of the same AMC is to be limited to the lower commission of the two schemes, with further guidelines to follow.

Opening demat account for Association of Persons permitted for specified securities subject to conditions and member liability.
SEBI permits an Association of Persons (AoP) to open a Demat account in its own name for holding units of mutual funds, corporate bonds and Government Securities only, subject to the AoP ensuring compliance with statutes governing its constitution, providing PAN details of the AoP and its Principal Officer, confirming no use for equity shares, and acknowledging that the Principal Officer is the legal representative and members are jointly and severally liable.

Regulation 30 disclosure obligations: industry standards require listed entities to follow standardised material-event disclosure and exchanges to ensure compliance.
Industry standards for Regulation 30 have been formulated by an Industry Standards Forum in consultation with SEBI and will be published by the associations and stock exchanges. Listed entities must follow these standards to ensure compliance with Regulation 30, and stock exchanges are to notify and ensure adherence. The circular is issued under SEBI's statutory powers and is available on the regulator's website.

Investor protection: updated stock broker charter mandates public complaint disclosures and access to ODR and SCORES.
SEBI issues an updated Investor Charter for stock brokers requiring brokers to publish and provide the charter to clients, disclose monthly complaints data on their websites in the Annexure B format, comply with specified service timelines and broker obligations (including trade execution, contract notes, margin and settlement procedures), and implement a layered grievance redressal framework using SCORES and the ODR/SMARTODR platform; the circular rescinds the prior charter and is effective immediately.

Investor Education and Awareness requirement ensures AMCs allocate funds for education and financial inclusion under expense limits.
AMCs must annually set aside at least 2 basis points on daily net assets within the maximum permissible Total Expense Ratio for Investor Education and Awareness, and initiatives under that heading include financial inclusion initiatives as may be approved by the regulator.

Disclosure of Most Important Terms requires research analysts to obtain client consent, follow fee limits, payment rules, and grievance steps.
SEBI mandates standardized Most Important Terms and Conditions (MITC) for Research Analysts to be incorporated into research-service terms and disclosed to clients with consent; RAs cannot trade on clients' behalf; fees for individual and HUF clients are subject to a regulatory maximum, advance fees are time-limited with proportionate refunds on early termination, cash payments are prohibited, and RAs must disclose conflicts, refrain from offering assured returns, never seek client login credentials or OTPs, and follow a specified grievance redressal process.

Most Important Terms and Conditions require IAs to disclose fees, consent for trades, ban guaranteed returns, and manage conflicts.
SEBI requires Investment Advisers to include standardized Most Important Terms and Conditions (MITC) in advisory agreements, prohibiting acceptance of client funds or securities, banning assured/guaranteed return schemes, and prohibiting execution of trades without explicit client consent. The MITC set fee and payment rules including prescribed maximums for eligible clients, limited advance fees with pro rata refunds and capped breakage fee, non-cash payment modes, mandatory risk profiling and suitability analysis, conflict-of-interest management favouring non-commission plans, specified grievance redressal steps, and disclosure when services fall outside SEBI's regulatory purview.

Consolidated Account Statement timelines revised: new monthly and half yearly data submission and dispatch schedules for AMCs and depositories.
AMCs and MF RTAs must provide common PAN data to depositories within five days from month end; depositories shall consolidate and dispatch monthly CAS electronically within twelve days and physically within fifteen days from month end. For half yearly CAS, data must be provided by the eighth day of April and October, with electronic dispatch by the eighteenth and physical dispatch by the twenty first of those months. Monthly email CAS is required where investor accounts have transactions; otherwise half yearly email CAS with holdings applies, with a physical option available.

Related party transaction disclosure standards require specified minimum information be provided to audit committees and shareholders for approval.
Listed entities must provide the information specified in the Industry Standards on "Minimum information to be provided for review of the audit committee and shareholders for approval of a related party transaction" when submitting RPT proposals to the audit committee and when including explanatory information in shareholder notices, pursuant to modifications to Section III B of the Master Circular read with Regulation 23(2), (3) and (4) of the LODR Regulations; stock exchanges and industry associations will publish and promote the standards and ensure compliance.

Dematerialisation requirement: AIF investments must be held in dematerialised form with phased compliance and specified exceptions.
AIFs must hold investments in dematerialised form for any acquisition on or after July 1, 2025; pre-July 1, 2025 investments are exempt unless the investee is legally mandated to dematerialise or the AIF (alone or with other mandated SEBI-registered entities) exercises control over the investee, in which case such investments must be dematerialised by October 31, 2025. Schemes ending on or before October 31, 2025 or in extended tenure as of February 14, 2025 are exempt. Trustees/sponsors must ensure the manager's Compliance Test Report records compliance. The circular is immediately effective.

Inactive folio tracing platform enables investors to locate and claim dormant mutual fund holdings and update KYC.
Creates MITRA, a searchable industry-level platform to help investors trace inactive mutual fund folios-defined as folios with unit balance and no investor-initiated transactions in the last ten years-hosted jointly by the two Qualified RTAs as agents of AMCs; QRTAs are jointly and severally responsible for cybersecurity, system audits and BCP/DR compliance, must operationalise the platform within fifteen working days with a two-month beta, and AMCs' Unit Holder Protection Committees must review inactive folios to reduce unclaimed amounts.

NDS-OM access via Separate Business Unit: SEBI-registered brokers must segregate SBU operations and net worth.
SEBI-registered stock brokers may transact on NDS-OM through a Separate Business Unit (SBU) that is exclusively engaged in NDS-OM activities, maintained at arms-length from the broker's securities market business, with separate accounts and segregated net worth; the broker's net worth for compliance shall exclude the SBU. The SBU's trading activities are subject to the other regulatory authority's framework for policy, eligibility, risk management, inspection and enforcement, and exchange grievance redressal mechanisms and the Investor Protection Fund (including SCORES) will not be available to SBU investors.

Safer participation of retail investors in algorithmic trading through broker led API controls, empanelment, surveillance, and algo categorisation.
The framework requires brokers to act as principals for API-based algo trading, tag API orders with exchange identifiers, empanel and due diligence algo providers, restrict API access through client specific keys and static whitelisted IPs, adopt OAuth and two factor authentication, handle investor grievances, and ensure disclosure of fees and conflict free arrangements. Exchanges must supervise algos with SOPs, surveillance, kill switch capability, empanelment criteria, confidentiality safeguards, data flow rules, and specified turnaround times. Algos are categorized into white box and black box, with black box providers required to register as research analysts and maintain detailed research reports.