Non-disposal undertakings must be recorded in the depository system, creating a freeze that prevents dealings until joint cancellation.
Depositories must provide a dedicated module to record Non Disposal Undertakings (NDUs), requiring both parties to be demat account holders and KYC compliant; participants will apply to record NDUs with BO ID, PAN, signatures, counterparty details and quantity. The participant verifies securities availability, creates a freeze for debit of specified securities, and the depository captures authorized signatory details and notifies both parties. No transfer, pledge, lending, rematerialisation or dealing is permitted while the freeze exists; cancellation requires joint instructions and unfreeze after the prescribed cooling period. Freeze/unfreeze actions are subject to concurrent audit and NDUs outside the depository are prohibited.

Options on commodity futures: permitted with eligibility, SEBI approval, devolvement settlement and CPMI IOSCO aligned risk controls.
Permitted introduction of options on commodity futures is subject to eligibility of the underlying futures, SEBI approval, and specified product and risk frameworks: options shall devolve into futures at the strike on exercise, use European style initially, include minimum strike series, follow defined exercise and assignment rules, maintain separate and higher position limits for options with temporary post expiry adjustment, and adopt CPMI IOSCO compliant risk management including portfolio level margins, 99% VaR coverage, two day MPOR, real time margining, and prudential margin add ons for options.

Margin trading regulation: revised eligibility, margin methodology and disclosure rules tighten broker prudential and reporting obligations.
SEBI's revised framework permits Margin Trading Facility only in Group I equities, prescribes initial margins as VaR plus specified multiples of applicable ELM with permitted forms of margin and haircuts, and requires separate identification and daily mark-to-market of collateral and funded stocks; brokers must maintain continuous margins, make margin calls, and may liquidate only under conditions set out in a mandatory Rights and Obligations document. Brokers offering the facility must meet a minimum net worth, may borrow only from scheduled commercial banks or regulated NBFCs, observe leverage and per-client exposure caps, maintain detailed records and auditor certifications, and comply with daily disclosure requirements to exchanges which will publish scrip-wise gross outstanding exposures.

Investor Protection Fund rules updated - revised trusteeship, funding sources and claim eligibility for commodity exchange investors.
The circular prescribes IPF Trust composition, funding from designated penalties and turnover fee contributions, claim eligibility and prioritisation where defaulter member assets are inadequate, and procedures where the defaulters' committee assesses legitimate claims and advises the IPF Trust which may disburse upon claim crystallization without awaiting asset realizations. It also mandates establishment and funding of ISF for investor service centers, supervised use of IPF income for investor education, separate bank accounts for IPF and ISF, and requires exchanges to amend bye laws and report implementation.

Online registration for mutual funds enabled; all registration applications must be filed via the SEBI Intermediary Portal with limited physical filings.
SEBI has mandated that all mutual fund registration applications be submitted and processed through the SEBI Intermediary Portal, which provides online application, processing, in-principle approval and final registration. Specified declarations and undertakings must still be submitted in physical form for records only, without affecting online processing. Assistance contact details for the portal are provided.

Green Debt Securities disclosure requirements: issuers must track and publicly report proceeds use and environmental impact.
Issuers of Green Debt Securities must disclose environmental objectives, decision making processes and eligibility criteria for financed projects, procedures for tracking deployment of proceeds, project descriptions or areas of utilization, and optional engagement of independent reviewers. Listed issuers must provide half yearly and annual disclosures on proceeds utilisation verified by an external auditor, details of unutilised funds, and annual lists of projects with qualitative and, where feasible, quantitative environmental impact measures, including methods and assumptions. Issuers must maintain continuing eligibility processes, ensure use of proceeds for stated green objectives, and disclose use of global standards if applied.

Listing of non-convertible instruments through a scheme of arrangement requires specific eligibility, disclosure, and certification compliance.
Listing of NCRPS/NCDs issued under a scheme of arrangement is permitted only where the listed entity is a party to the scheme and the instruments are issued to holders of its listed specified securities; such instruments must have at least one year tenure, meet minimum credit rating applicable to comparable public issues, be dematerialised, comply with Companies Act reserve requirements, include valuation of the instruments in the valuation report, disclose face value, price, dividend/coupon terms, credit rating, tenure, redemption and embedded features in the draft scheme, and post-sanction applications for rule 19(7) relaxation must include a certified compliance report.

Permissible investments in IFSC expanded to include IFSC listed securities and India/foreign company securities, subject to RBI and government conditions.
SEBI amends the IFSC Guidelines to allow portfolio managers, alternative investment funds and mutual funds operating in IFSC to invest in securities listed in IFSC, securities of companies incorporated in IFSC, and securities of companies incorporated in India or foreign jurisdictions, subject to conditions or guidelines from the Reserve Bank of India and Government of India; such investments into India must be made through the foreign portfolio investor route.

Position limits for cross-currency contracts set for IFSC exchanges; caps apply to trading members, institutional and foreign investors, and other clients.
Position limits for cross-currency futures and options (excluding Indian Rupee) on IFSC exchanges set per currency pair per exchange: Trading Members, Institutional Investors, and Eligible Foreign Investors face gross open position limits of 15% of total open interest or an equivalent USD threshold, whichever is higher; Other Clients face limits of 6% of total open interest or a smaller equivalent USD threshold, whichever is higher. Stock exchanges must enforce these limits and impose penalties for violations.

Digital payments requirement: intermediaries must submit payment details to SEBI after remittance, ensuring identification and accounting.
Intermediaries and other entities remitting fees, penalties, remittances or other payments by digital transfer must provide the Annexure I remittance information (date, SEBI department, intermediary name/type, registration number if any, PAN, amount, purpose and period, remitting bank and account, and UTR number) and email it to the relevant SEBI department and to the Treasury & Accounts division at [email protected] to enable identification and accounting of direct credits.

Instant access facility and e-wallet rules enable same-day redemptions and digital mutual fund subscriptions subject to compliance and transaction limits.
SEBI permits an Instant Access Facility for resident individuals in liquid schemes allowing same day credit of redemption proceeds under specified NAV cut off rules, subject to board/trustee approval, liquidity buffers without borrowing, inclusion in stress testing, and disclosures. Separately, SEBI allows e wallet (PPI) subscriptions provided AMCs contract with PPI issuers, comply with cut off and time stamp norms, restrict payment sources and incentives, enforce an annual per fund investment limit aggregated with cash, and ensure redemptions are credited only to the investor's bank account.

Online registration requirement for securities intermediaries mandates use of SEBI Intermediary Portal for applications and related requests.
SEBI mandates use of the SEBI Intermediary Portal as the official online channel for registration, processing, grant, surrender/cancellation applications, periodical reports and updates for specified intermediaries; stock brokers, sub brokers and depository participants continue to route applications through exchanges/depositories with those bodies preserving hard copies, and relevant declarations must still be filed physically for records while online processing proceeds.

Remuneration transparency required for mutual funds: mandated public disclosures on executive and high-earning employee pay and AAUM metrics.
AMCs/MFs must publish annually on their website under a separate "Remuneration" heading: names, designations and remuneration of CEO, CIO and COO (or equivalents); names, designations and remuneration of the top ten employees by remuneration; names, designations and remuneration of every employee meeting specified high-remuneration thresholds; the ratio of CEO remuneration to median employee remuneration; and total, debt and equity AAUM with three-year growth. "Remuneration" is as defined in the Companies Act and disclosures are required within one month of the financial year end.

IFSC Banking Units permitted to act as trading or clearing members if they meet banking-regulator conditions and compliance requirements.
IFSC Banking Units in an International Financial Services Centre may act as Trading Members of exchanges or as Professional Clearing Members of clearing corporations in the IFSC without forming a separate company, provided they comply with the conditions specified by the banking regulator and related compliance, prudential and organisational requirements set for IBUs under the IFSC framework.

Acceptance of government securities for settlement guarantee fund contributions permits clearing members to use securities as eligible SGF collateral.
Permits clearing members to contribute Central Government Securities towards Core Settlement Guarantee Fund obligations in addition to cash and bank fixed deposits; requires clearing corporations to amend bye laws and systems, notify members, disclose on websites, and report implementation status to the regulator.

Position limits for interest rate futures: opening-time limits govern trading and increases barred until compliance achieved.
Position limits for Interest Rate Futures are assessed at the time of opening a position; existing positions need not be unwound if open interest later declines, but those participants cannot increase or open new positions in the affected maturity bucket until they comply with applicable position limits. Stock exchanges may require faster reductions for risk management or surveillance reasons, and exchanges and clearing corporations must amend rules, notify members, publish the changes, and report implementation status to the regulator.

Derivatives on equity shares permitted in IFSCs subject to SEBI approval and specified participant and position limits.
Inclusion of Derivatives on Equity shares is authorised under SEBI (IFSC) Guidelines, 2015 subject to SEBI approval; eligible participants include SEBI-registered FPIs operating in IFSC and other IFSC entities. Position limits follow existing SEBI circulars, and the Market Wide Position Limit (MWPL) for these derivatives equals ten percent of non-promoter free-float shareholding of the underlying, reckoned separately for IFSC exchanges and capped in value at fifty percent of the domestic-market MWPL.

Capacity planning standards require depositories to maintain excess capacity, monitor utilisation, and report implementation promptly to regulator.
Depositories must size installed capacity above projected peak demand using hourly peak trends from recent operation, apply that sizing across all technical components, monitor utilisation-especially during pay-in/pay-out windows-and trigger capacity enhancements when sustained high utilisation occurs; they must deploy real-time monitoring and alerts, amend bye-laws and systems within the prescribed implementation period, communicate the provisions to participants and on their website, and report implementation status to the regulator.

FPI investment limits in government securities increased, with separate long term allocations and higher SDL cap effective immediately.
Revised FPI debt limits for April-June 2017 update instrument wise upper caps for central government securities, a separate allocation for long term FPIs, and an increased aggregate cap for State Development Loans, effective April 3, 2017; existing security wise limits, allowance for coupon investment outside limits, and the minimum three year residual maturity requirement continue to apply.

Enhanced standards for credit rating agencies: clarifications on disclosure exemptions, rating outlooks, and withdrawal procedures.
SEBI clarifies that CRAs may omit certain instrument details in standardized press releases (interest rates for bank loans, maturities for working capital, tranche specifics for frequently reissued money market instruments while providing duration ranges), and that rating outlooks need not be assigned to short term ratings, low category ratings, ratings on watch, securitization pools, or mutual fund scheme ratings subject to monthly surveillance. The circular prescribes the "ISSUER NOT COOPERATING*" suffix and explains permitted withdrawal procedures for non transferable bank loans and open ended mutual funds, including required requests, bank no objection, assignment of a rating on withdrawal, and issuance of the prescribed press release stating reasons.