Enhanced Standards for Credit Rating Agencies: mandating disclosure, governance, standardized press releases and strengthened internal audit processes.
SEBI prescribes enhanced standards for Credit Rating Agencies requiring an Operations Manual with detailed rating criteria and processes, mandatory public disclosure and website publication of criteria and policy changes with hyperlinks to prior versions, standardized press releases and rating histories, rules for analyst accountability, defined rating committee governance and minutes, policies for issuer non-cooperation with specified press release content and labelling, and strengthened internal audit eligibility, rotation, scope and reporting with prescribed corrective-action reporting to SEBI.

Disclosure formats for listed insurance companies require regulator-prescribed quarterly reporting and continued newspaper-format compliance under listing rules.
Insurers listed on stock exchanges must submit quarterly financial results and segment-wise reports in formats prescribed by the insurance regulator for specified quarters; newspaper publication formats remain governed by SEBI-prescribed formats with possible additional regulator-prescribed disclosures; other requirements of earlier SEBI circulars continue to apply.

Financial disclosure requirements mandate comprehensive audited InvIT financials, projections, NDCF framework and detailed related party reporting.
Offer documents must present audited financial information for the last three completed financial years and any necessary interim period (or combined financial statements if InvIT history is insufficient), prepared under Ind AS and adjusted for prior period errors, accounting policy changes and auditor reported modifications. Required statements include balance sheet, profit and loss/income and expenditure, changes in unitholders' equity, cash flows, net assets at fair value, total returns at fair value, and specified notes; additional mandatory disclosures cover project wise cash flows, EPU, contingent liabilities, commitments, related party transactions, capitalisation, debt history, auditor reliance rules, NDCF framework, projections with auditor and manager certification, MDA, and combined statement principles.

Use of stock exchange infrastructure now permitted for RIAs to purchase and redeem mutual fund units for clients.
SEBI permits SEBI Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) to use recognised stock exchange infrastructure to purchase and redeem mutual fund units directly from Mutual Funds/Asset Management Companies on behalf of their clients, including direct plans, while other provisions of the earlier circular for distributors remain unchanged and implementation follows existing exchange, clearing and depository protocols under the regulatory authority of Section 11(1).

Bullion collateral limits updated: exchanges may accept increased commodities collateral with non-bullion sub-limits and liquidation safeguards.
Regulation permits a higher share of a clearing member's liquid assets to be accepted as commodities collateral while maintaining a distinct cap on non-bullion collateral; exchanges must ensure timely liquidation mechanisms, may set concentration limits based on risk perception and liquidation capability, and must notify members and publish the change.

Exit mechanism for exclusively listed companies requires promoter-funded buyback or preferential capital raise to secure investor exit.
ELCs on the Dissemination Board must either list on a nationwide exchange by raising capital through preferential allotment under ICDR-with designated exchanges granting in-principle approval and monitoring compliance and certain SAST thresholds exempted subject to promoter holding caps-or provide investor exit per Annexure-A, which mandates an independent valuer, valuer-determined acquisition at fair value, escrow-funded consideration, public announcement, specified offer and payment timelines, certification of compliance and removal from the DB upon satisfaction.

FPI investment limits in government securities increased, with enhanced caps for long term investors and SDL allocations.
SEBI increases category-wise and aggregate upper limits for FPI investments in Central Government securities and State Development Loans, with higher caps for Long Term FPIs. Incremental limits and SDL allocations are available on tap from the stated dates. A separate note will address transfer of unutilized long-term limits to the general government debt category. Existing terms continue to apply, including security-wise limits, coupons permitted outside limits, and a minimum residual maturity requirement of three years. The circular is effective immediately under SEBI's statutory powers.

List of commodities notified under SCRA now governs commodity derivatives trading; exchanges must amend rules and notify members.
The Central Government, in consultation with SEBI, notified a Schedule of goods under clause (bc) of section 2 of the SCRA, bringing an extensive list of agricultural, industrial and energy commodities within SCRA coverage for commodity derivatives. Commodity derivatives traded on recognised exchanges shall be governed by the SCRA and associated rules. Exchanges must amend byelaws, notify members, publish on websites and report implementation status to SEBI.

Options in commodity derivatives permitted, subject to SEBI approval and exchange amendments and compliance with disclosure requirements.
Commodity Derivatives Exchanges are permitted to introduce trading in options as a new derivative class to develop the market. Exchanges must obtain prior SEBI approval, amend relevant bye-laws, notify members and publish provisions on their websites, and report implementation status to SEBI. The circular is effective immediately and issued under Section 11(1) of the SEBI Act to promote market development and protect investor interests.

Algorithmic trading rules: exchanges must enforce system capacity, risk controls, order-to-trade penalties, audits and reporting.
Algorithmic trading-orders generated by automated execution logic-is subject to operational, risk-management and surveillance requirements. Exchanges must ensure system capacity and upgrades, classify and route algorithmic orders through member servers, prohibit strategies and access that harm price discovery or disadvantage members, and impose multi-layered order-level risk controls including limits on order types, price, size and position. Members need prior exchange approval, real-time monitoring, audit trails, empanelled system audits and unique order identifiers; exchanges must limit order rates, apply economic disincentives for excessive order-to-trade activity, detect dysfunctional algorithms and report metrics and incidents to the regulator.

Position limits for commodity derivatives mandate client/member caps, clubbing rules, monitoring and value based penalties to protect market integrity.
Establishes position limits for commodity derivatives at client, member and exchange levels, with client numerical limits per commodity and member limits set as multiples of client limits or proportions of market wide open interest; prescribes aggregation and netting rules differing for agricultural and non agricultural contracts, near month limits for agricultural contracts, mandatory clubbing of linked positions subject to limited exemptions, real time monitoring, a value and duration based monetary penalty regime, exchange authority to square off excess positions and suspend persistent violators, and requirements for exchanges to amend rules, notify members and report implementation.

Warehousing norms revised: enhanced accreditation, financial security and inspection standards to secure good delivery in commodity derivatives markets.
SEBI prescribes minimum exchange-level standards to ensure guarantee for settlement of trades including good delivery by accrediting WSPs, warehouses and assayers through transparent selection and renewal; imposing paid-up capital and net worth criteria, refundable security deposits and tiered Financial Security Deposits with prescribed asset forms and concentration limits; mandating insurance on replacement value; requiring SOPs, KYD, PAN disclosures, staff training and prohibition on trading by WSP management; and establishing periodic independent inspections, audit disclosure, cancellation and continuity procedures.

Information sharing on defaulter members: automatic cross-exchange defaulter recognition and action against associated parties required.
When a member is declared a defaulter, the declaring Exchange/Clearing Corporation must immediately declare it a defaulter in all its segments and inform other Exchanges/Clearing Corporations of the member's identifying details; on receipt, those other Exchanges/Clearing Corporations must immediately declare the member a defaulter across their segments. Exchanges/Clearing Corporations must take appropriate action against associates of the defaulter, where associate covers control relationships, substantial shareholding, and overlapping directors or partners, with "control" as defined under takeover regulations.

Market disclosure obligations require exchanges to publish comprehensive member, client and contract trading data and disciplinary information online.
SEBI mandates that commodity derivative exchanges publish on their websites daily anonymous top-ten client positions, hedgers' delivery intent, pre-market disclosure of algorithmic trading share, ten-day post-settlement pay-in/pay-out for top clients, monthly member proprietary position percentages and margins, member data in a prescribed format, contract life-cycle trading metrics per Annexure-II, quarterly settlement fund breakdowns, lists of approved surrenders and detailed disclosures for suspended or expelled members; exchanges must amend rules, notify members and report implementation to SEBI.

Portfolio management services restriction continues: PMS remains prohibited in commodity derivatives pending regulatory review and dissemination.
Portfolio management services (PMS) remain prohibited in the commodity derivatives market pending SEBI review through the continuance of existing FMC directives; PMS is therefore not permissible. The circular takes effect from its stated date, supersedes earlier FMC directives on PMS, is issued under Section 11(1) of the SEBI Act for investor protection and market regulation, and requires commodity exchanges to notify members and publish the circular on their websites.

Spread margin benefits: special margin shall not be levied on spread trades, with the exemption retained and continued by regulator.
The circular affirms that the erstwhile FMC circulars prescribing that special margin shall not be levied on spread trades shall continue in force beyond the transitional repeal period, and directs exchanges to notify members and disseminate the provision on their websites.

Enhanced supervision of stock brokers: exchanges must monitor client funds, enforce account nomenclature and trigger alerts for misuse.
Stock Exchanges and Depositories must enforce prescribed account nomenclature and prompt reporting by brokers, implement a weekly-data based monitoring mechanism calculating reconciliation metrics (G, H, I, J) to detect misuse of client funds, and act on alerts by seeking clarifications, conducting inspections and initiating remedial steps. Brokers must comply with internal audit rotation and reporting rules, submit standardized financial statements and indicators, upload monthly client-wise fund and securities balances to exchanges, follow rules on pledging client securities, and observe prescribed running account settlement and PAN disclosure requirements.

Re issuance of legacy FMC norms: exchanges must disclose terminal disablements, set delivery timelines and collect extreme loss margin.
SEBI re issues FMC norms requiring exchanges to disclose member terminal disablements quarterly, set and publish timelines for submission and modification of delivery intentions, and determine and disclose location premium/discount prior to contract launch. SEBI clarifies that extreme loss margin must be collected upfront alongside initial margin and that the specified penalty structure for short collection/non collection applies from T day to ELM as well as initial margin. Exchanges must notify members and publish these provisions on their websites.

Investor Protection Fund rules clarified: trust governance, funding sources, claim eligibility and disbursement procedures updated.
SEBI prescribes that the Investor Protection Fund be administered by a Trust with specified composition and SEBI approved trustee appointments; funds must be segregated, disclosed as related party transactions, and funded by specified portions of exchange penalties (excluding settlement penalties after administrative cost deduction) and a share of turnover fees. Exchanges must invite claimant filings for a minimum 90 day specified period by newspaper and website notice; only retail client claims are eligible, claims within three years after the period may be processed at the Trust's discretion, and eligibility, determination and disbursement procedures are governed by Trust decisions, arbitration mechanisms and prescribed compensation limits with SEBI review.

Regulatory harmonization for commodity brokers aligns commodity market broker rules with securities norms and mandates exchange compliance.
The circular harmonises commodity derivatives broker regulation by classifying legacy FMC instruments into three parts-those repealed and replaced by applicable securities regulator circulars, those retained as commodity specific norms, and those repealed-covering client funds segregation, running account settlement, KYC/account opening, client communications, contract notes, audit and inspections, outsourcing and complaint redressal. Exchanges must amend bye laws, monitor compliance via half yearly audits and inspections, continue existing penalties subject to consultative revision, and report implementation to the regulator; the circular is issued under the regulator's powers to protect investors and regulate markets.