Valuation of money market and debt securities shifted to security level pricing using a mandated waterfall and agency-driven poll governance.
SEBI requires security level pricing for money market and debt securities using a documented waterfall approach by valuation agencies and AMFI. Traded/non-traded definitions are updated; amortization-based valuation is permitted transiently with comparison to agency reference prices, after which all securities must be valued from agency security level prices. Government securities are always agency-priced. Polling protocols, mandatory participation, governance, NAV timeline extension, disclosure of any deviations with rationale, prohibition on use of own trades for valuation, inter-scheme transfer pricing rules, and uniform treatment for below investment grade or default securities are mandated.

Risk management for liquid funds: mandatory liquid asset holdings, ban on bank short term deposit parking, fee and NAV changes.
Liquid and overnight funds must maintain a minimum proportion of assets in liquid assets (cash, government securities, T bills, repo on government securities) and restore such exposure before further investments if it falls below the threshold. These funds are barred from parking monies in short term deposits of scheduled commercial banks and from investing in debt with structured obligation or credit enhancement ratings, except government guaranteed securities. AMCs cannot charge investment management or advisory fees for parking funds in short term deposits; NAV cut off for purchases is set earlier and an exit load applies to very short term redemptions on fresh investments.

Eligible liquid assets updated: diamonds, base metals and alloys accepted as collateral with prescribed haircuts and limits.
SEBI adds Diamond, Base metals and Alloys to the list of Eligible Liquid Assets for the Commodity Derivatives Segment, subject to applicable non-bullion concentration limits and minimum haircuts: 30% for base metals and alloys (including Steel) and 40% for diamonds. Collateral must be of the same quality specification as deliverable under contract specifications. All other provisions regarding liquid assets remain in force and the circular is effective from its date of issuance.

Unpaid dues compliance required before filing schemes of arrangement, with prescribed reporting and forwarding to regulator.
Listed entities must settle all dues, fines and penalties to regulators, stock exchanges and depositories before filing a draft scheme; if dues remain, they must submit a prescribed Unpaid Dues Report with the draft scheme, which stock exchanges will forward to the regulator before the regulator issues comments; false statements invite punitive action.

Deadline extension for client securities handling guidelines extends compliance timeline; exchanges and depositories must notify members.
Extension of the compliance timeline for handling of clients' securities by trading and clearing members: specified implementation dates in an earlier circular are amended to later dates, and stock exchanges, clearing corporations and depositories must notify and disseminate the revised deadlines to their members and publish the circular on their websites under the regulator's statutory regulatory powers to protect investor interests and regulate the securities market.

Fines for ICDR non-compliance: exchanges to impose daily penalties and pursue enforcement, protecting investor interests.
Non-compliance with specified provisions of the SEBI ICDR Regulations, 2018 attracts daily fines imposed by stock exchanges for delays in actions including completion of bonus issues, conversion and allotment of convertible securities, listing applications and seeking trading approval. Fines are credited to the Investor Protection Fund; exchanges must publish non-compliant entities and fine details, issue notices for payment, and may initiate enforcement, including prosecution, for failure to pay. For bonus issues, listing and trading approvals for promoters' shares may be withheld until fines are paid, whereas approvals for non-promoter bonus shares may be granted subject to other compliance.

Parking of Funds in Short Term Deposits prohibited where the bank invests in the same mutual fund scheme; trustees must prevent conflicts.
Mutual funds must not park scheme funds in short term deposits of a scheduled commercial bank that has invested in that scheme; Trustees and AMCs must ensure no scheme's funds are placed in an STD of any bank that is itself an investor in the same scheme. Conversely, a bank holding a scheme's STD shall not invest in that scheme until the STD with that bank has been withdrawn. These requirements are obligations on Trustees/AMCs to prevent conflicts of interest and ensure investor protection.

Permissible investments for AIFs in IFSC aligned with domestic AIF regulations, creating a uniform investment eligibility framework.
AIFs incorporated in IFSC are authorised to make investments in accordance with the SEBI (Alternative Investment Fund) Regulations, 2012 and the related guidelines and circulars, including operating guidelines for IFSC AIFs, thereby harmonising IFSC investment eligibility with the domestic AIF investment framework; all other conditions from the May 23, 2017 circular remain unchanged.

Disclosure of encumbrance reasons required for promoters, mandating detailed public disclosure and website posting under takeover regulations.
Promoters must disclose detailed reasons for any encumbrance by them and persons acting in concert when combined encumbrance meets specified thresholds, using the prescribed Annexure II format. Disclosures must be filed with each stock exchange and the listed company within two working days of creation or on further increases, and companies must publish the Annexure II contents on their websites. Stock exchanges will maintain and disseminate lists of such companies and report implementation to the regulator; the circular supplements prior Annexure I requirements and is issued to enhance transparency and protect investors.

Product Advisory Committees for commodity derivatives to guide contract design and market disclosures, mandating stakeholder representation and confidentiality.
Requires recognised exchanges with commodity derivatives segments to constitute a Product Advisory Committee for each commodity group to advise on contract design and review, delivery centres, market state, participant feedback, and contract performance. PACs must have balanced stakeholder representation including independent experts and exchange executives, meet at least twice yearly with specified quorum, and operate under confidentiality and conflict-of-interest rules. Exchanges must disclose PAC composition and terms, may publicise agendas, ensure annual Regulatory Oversight Committee review, amend bylaws, notify brokers, publish provisions online, and report implementation status to the regulator.

SCORES Authentication automated issuance streamlines credential delivery to newly registered SEBI intermediaries via contact email.
SEBI has automated issuance of SCORES Authentication for newly registered intermediaries, with user IDs and passwords auto generated and sent to the Contact Person/Compliance Officer email upon online grant of registration; newly registered intermediaries are exempted from submitting Form B, may self update their primary SCORES email and registered address, while listed companies continue to follow the prior process for obtaining credentials.

Distinctive Number reconciliation: freeze on promoters' and directors' securities until DN database compliance is achieved.
Depositories must, in response to issuer/RTA non compliance with the Distinctive Number reconciliation directive, freeze all securities held by promoters and directors at the beneficiary owner account level, prohibit transfers including sale and pledge, and freeze related corporate benefits until the company updates DN information and reconciles records; exchanges and depositories shall publish names of non compliant companies and coordinate implementation, and exchanges must ensure DN compliance and updated promoter/director identifiers before lifting trading suspensions.

Margin reporting penalties: incorrect or non-reporting fines tied to materiality, with suspension and proportional financial sanctions.
Recognised stock exchanges and clearing corporations must jointly devise a uniform fine framework for Trading Members and Clearing Members for false, incorrect or non reporting of client margins, applying the proportionality principle based on materiality (including repeated instances). Sanctions may include financial fines measured against the unreported/incorrect amount and/or suspension of trading. Relevant prior circular clauses are rescinded to the extent covered by these guidelines, and exchanges/clearing corporations must notify members, amend rules and report implementation to SEBI.

Unified Payments Interface mandatory for retail IPO applications; non-listed bank or incorrect UPI handle may cause rejection.
Phase II mandates UPI with ASBA for retail investor applications through intermediaries, discontinuing the prior intermediary-to-SCSB blocking channel; only applications through SCSBs and mobile apps listed on SEBI's website using the correct UPI handle are permissible, and applications using non-listed banks, apps or incorrect handles may be rejected. Alternatives remain for investors whose banks are not live on UPI, and participants must follow SEBI's FAQs and compliance steps.

Liquidity enhancement exemptions for newly formed exchanges permit capped incentives from audited net worth, subject to reserve creation.
Exemption allows newly formed or recommencing exchanges to disregard specified prior limits on LES during their first five years, provided yearly LES incentives do not exceed a prescribed share of audited net-worth, a dedicated LES reserve is maintained (excluded from net-worth calculation), and minimum net-worth requirements under securities regulations continue to be satisfied; exchanges must amend bye-laws, notify brokers, publish the circular, and report implementation to the regulator.

Staggered delivery period standardised to ensure fair allocation, mandatory delivery procedures and prompt pay-in/pay-out timelines.
SEBI mandates a minimum five working day staggered delivery period for all compulsory delivery commodity futures, permits exchanges to set longer periods based on factors like historical open interest and near expiry volume, and requires exchanges to publish criteria for longer durations. During the period sellers/buyers may submit intentions; exchanges shall allocate daily intentions to buyers with open long positions by random allocation (with limited preference for declared takers). Pay-in/pay-out for allocated deliveries must occur within two working days; post expiry open positions result in compulsory delivery at the Final Settlement Price with pay-in/pay-out by the second working day. Pre expiry margin must commence by the start of the staggered period and changes apply to contracts expiring after three months.

Standardized reporting of Code of Conduct violations required; entities must use prescribed format and maintain a violations database.
Mandated reporting requires listed companies, intermediaries and fiduciaries to use the prescribed Annexure A format to report violations of the Code of Conduct by designated persons and immediate relatives, to maintain a database of such violations, to record written reasons for any action taken, and to include particulars such as designation, functional role, transaction details and prior instances; the requirement is effective from the date of the circular and issued under statutory regulatory powers.

Audit and limited review formats updated to align with revised auditing standards; new templates required for listed entities.
Certain illustrative formats for limited review and audit reports for listed entities and those consolidated with them are replaced to align with revised auditing and review standards. The updated templates cover unaudited standalone quarterly and year to date results, audited standalone results, consolidated quarterly and annual results, and bank specific variants; they restate auditor responsibilities, management and board duties, group consolidation disclosures, and procedures for reliance on other auditors. Stock exchanges must notify listed entities and disseminate the changes; the replacements apply from the financial results for the effective quarter specified by the circular.

Disclosure of divergence in asset classification requires listed banks to report significant provisioning or NPA divergences to exchanges.
SEBI modifies its July 18, 2017 circular to adopt revised RBI thresholds: listed banks must disclose to stock exchanges divergences in asset classification and provisioning where either additional provisioning assessed by the RBI exceeds a specified proportion of reported profit before provisions and contingencies for the reference period, or additional gross NPAs identified by the RBI exceed a specified proportion of published incremental gross NPAs for the reference period; other disclosure requirements remain unchanged and the modification is effective immediately.

Corporate governance compliance reporting: revised report formats and timelines mandated under Listing Regulations for listed entities.
SEBI has revised the format for corporate governance compliance reports and prescribed three templates: Annex I for quarterly filings, Annex II for annual year end reporting, and Annex III to be filed within six months after financial year end (may accompany the next financial year's second quarter report). These formats replace the Annexure to the 2015 circular and must be used to discharge the submission obligation under Regulation 27(2); exchanges are to disseminate the formats and the revision takes effect from the quarter ended September 30, 2019.