Execution-only platform regulation mandates registration, KYC allocation, data governance, immediate order routing, and conflict controls for mutual fund direct plans.
SEBI mandates a regulatory framework for Execution Only Platforms (EOPs) for transactions in direct plans of Mutual Funds, requiring registration as either Category 1 with AMFI (agents of AMCs, may aggregate transactions) or Category 2 as Stock Brokers under an EOP segment (agents of investors, no aggregation). The framework prescribes eligibility, KYC and onboarding responsibilities (with AMCs retaining KYC compliance for executed transactions), order routing and immediate execution rules, operational risk management, data governance, cybersecurity, disclosure limits on advertisements and recommendations, conflict-of-interest controls, fee constraints to flat non-ad-valorem charges, and specified record-keeping and reporting obligations.

Mutual fund participation in repos affirmed by corrigendum, confirming eligibility under governing mutual fund provisions.
The corrigendum replaces Clause 1 of the earlier circular to clarify that Para 12.18 of the Master Circular on Mutual Funds permits mutual funds to participate in repo transactions in corporate bond securities, reaffirming the scope of eligible repo activity for mutual funds under the mutual fund regulatory framework.

Upstreaming of clients' funds: SBs/CMs must transfer all client monies to CCs via cash, liened FDRs, or pledged MFOS units.
All client funds held by Stock Brokers and Clearing Members must be upstreamed to Clearing Corporations as cash, lien-marked FDRs meeting CC exposure norms and pre-terminable within one year, or as pledged dematerialized units of Mutual Fund Overnight Schemes held in a dedicated Client Nodal MFOS Account and pledged through the prescribed pledge/re-pledge mechanism; designated Up Streaming and Down Streaming Client Nodal Bank Accounts must be used with specified cutoff times for upstreaming and release, permitted withdrawal scenarios are limited, CCs must enable collateral utilisation and margin adjustment, and bank-CMs and proprietary funds are excluded.

Online processing of investor service requests mandates RTAs to implement portals with URN, tracking, authentication, and compliance.
Mandates RTAs servicing listed companies to implement publicly accessible websites and online portals enabling investor authentication, submission of standard forms (uploadable or fillable), generation and use of a unique reference number (URN), online acknowledgement, and status tracking; requires cybersecurity, BCP/DR compliance, a Company Secretary compliance certificate post implementation, investor notifications, and uniform document lists with provision for seeking additional documents in specific cases.

Repo participation by mutual funds: permitted on listed AA and above corporate debt, CPs and CDs; look through ratings apply.
Mutual funds may enter repos on listed AA and above rated corporate debt securities, Commercial Papers and Certificate of Deposits. Credit exposure for regulatory metrics shall be assessed on a look through basis to the underlying securities' ratings. Repos with settlement guaranteed by a Clearing Corporation shall be excluded from single issuer, group issuer and sector investment limit calculations. Other prior conditions remain unchanged and the provisions are effective immediately.

RFQ platform obligation requires stock brokers to route a growing share of proprietary corporate bond trades via quotes to boost liquidity and transparency.
Stock brokers must increase use of the RFQ platform for proprietary secondary market trades in corporate bonds by meeting phased minimums through one-to-one or one-to-many quote modes, with compliance measured on a rolling basis across the current and two prior months; exchanges must notify members, amend rules, report implementation progress and file compliance reports with the regulator.

Electronic gold receipts framework mandates regulated creation, trading and conversion with vaulting, reconciliation and margining safeguards.
The Master Circular consolidates the operational, custodial and market framework for Electronic Gold Receipts (EGRs): physical gold meeting prescribed standards is deposited with registered Vault Managers who create ISIN identified EGRs via a common depository interface; Depositories, Stock Exchanges and Clearing Corporations coordinate trading, reconciliation and extinguishment on withdrawal; Vault Managers must maintain specified security, insurance, recordkeeping, inspection and indemnity arrangements; and Clearing Corporations must apply mandated MTM, VaR and Extreme Loss margining with defined liquid asset haircuts and reporting.

Tripartite agreement requirement mandates audited handover and data transfer protections for change of share transfer agent.
SEBI requires a Model Tripartite Agreement among the Issuer, Existing STA and New STA under Regulation 7(4) LODR, mandating publication of the format, auditor-verified handover of records and computer data, issuance of a No Objection Certificate for ISIN shifting, cataloguing of missing records via Annexure-I, capital reconciliation by the New STA, time-bound allocation of pre- and post-cut-off liabilities, preservation of handed-over soft data by the Existing STA, submission of the Agreement to stock exchanges, and compliance with applicable SEBI rules and circulars.

Core Settlement Guarantee Fund computation aligned with other segments; excess contributions returnable after regulator approval and implementation required.
Alignment of Core Settlement Guarantee Fund computation in the Commodity Derivatives Segment with other segments is mandated; Clearing Corporations may adjust target corpus levels and, with regulatory approval, return excess contributions pro rata to stakeholders. Stock Exchanges and Clearing Corporations must amend bye laws, notify brokers, disseminate the circular, and report implementation status in monthly development reports.

InvITs must hold HoldCo and SPV securities in dematerialized form; Investment manager responsible; deadline June 30, 2023.
InvITs must hold securities of their holding companies and special purpose vehicles in dematerialized form, and the investment manager is responsible for ensuring compliance. Existing securities held in physical form must be dematerialized on or before June 30, 2023. The requirement is issued under the regulator's statutory powers and Regulation 33 and is effective immediately.

Dematerialization requirement: REITs must hold and convert holdings in HoldCos and SPVs to demat form, enforced immediately.
REITs must hold securities of their Hold Cos and SPVs only in dematerialized form, and the Manager of the REIT is required to ensure dematerialization of any existing physical securities of Hold Cos and SPVs by the prescribed cut-off; the directive is issued under the regulator's powers and takes effect immediately.

Risk disclosures for equity F&O trading require brokers to display prominent pop-up notices and retain client P&L data.
Brokers must display SEBI's prescribed Risk disclosures (Annexure I) to individual clients on login, require acknowledgement before trading, and ensure the disclosures occupy at least fifty percent of the screen. Qualified Stock Brokers must maintain client Profit and Loss data continuously in the Annexure II format and retain such records for at least five years; exchanges and depositories must notify members and publish the disclosures with a link to the SEBI study. These requirements are effective July 1, 2023.

Mutual funds: SEBI issues a consolidated master circular standardising filings, categorisation, risk management, segregation and disclosure.
SEBI issues a consolidated Master Circular for Mutual Funds effective from its issuance date, rescinding earlier circulars while preserving prior actions. It prescribes uniform requirements for SID/SAI/KIM filings, scheme categorization and benchmarks, standardizes offer and rebalancing procedures, and sets minimum AUM/NFO norms. The circular mandates a Risk Management Framework, stress testing, internal credit assessment, cybersecurity and systems audit, permits creation of segregated portfolios on specified credit events with valuation and disclosure rules, and establishes swing pricing, liquidity and ETF/GOLD/SILVER product specific norms alongside investor protection, two factor authentication and reporting obligations.

Registrars to an Issue and Share Transfer Agents: consolidated master circular-registration, demat service rules, QRTA obligations.
SEBI issues a consolidated Master Circular for RTAs rescinding listed prior circulars while deeming past actions and pending applications to continue under corresponding provisions. It mandates online registration via the SEBI Intermediary Portal, prescribes registration and change in control procedures, net worth and half yearly reporting, appointment of a Compliance Officer, and record retention. RTAs servicing over two crore folios are designated QRTAs with enhanced governance, risk, BCP, wind down, data protection and cyber audit obligations. Operational rules standardize issuance of a Letter of Confirmation for service requests, credit to Suspense Escrow Demat Accounts where demat requests lapse, and mandatory PAN/KYC/nomination with freezing of non compliant folios.

SEBI issues a consolidated Master Circular setting uniform registration, supervision, client protection and cyber resilience rules for stock brokers.
Master Circular consolidates SEBI directives for stock brokers, superseding earlier circulars and prescribing: single registration across exchanges/clearing corporations; registration, conversion, merger and transfer rules; mandatory online application processing and document freshness; annual and risk triggered inspections, half yearly internal audits and system audits; standardized naming/tagging and reporting of bank and demat accounts; weekly and monthly uploads of client funds/collateral/securities for alerting; client onboarding standardization including UCC demat mapping, nomination and running account rules; segregation and handling of client funds and collateral; cyber security, system audit and QSB enhanced governance and continuity requirements.

Minor investment account rules: redemption proceeds must be credited only to the minor's verified bank account under guardian arrangements.
Payment for subscription may be accepted from the minor's, parent's or legal guardian's bank account or a joint account; AMCs must obtain a Change of Pay-out Bank mandate for existing folios before redemption. All redemption proceeds must be credited only to the minor's verified bank account after KYC completion. Other prior provisions remain unchanged.

Direct Market Access to FPIs permitted for commodity derivatives, subject to existing DMA framework and FPI participation conditions.
DMA is authorised for SEBI-registered FPIs to participate in ETCDs, subject to adherence to the existing DMA framework and the prior circular permitting FPI participation; stock exchanges and brokers must comply with procedural, operational and risk-management requirements including client authorisation and broker-client agreements, amend bye-laws, notify members, publish the provisions and report implementation status to the regulator, with immediate effect.

FINNET 2.0 registration required for SEBI-registered debenture trustees to report suspicious transactions and comply with PML rules.
SEBI directs all registered debenture trustees to register or re register on FIU India's FINNET 2.0 platform; FIU India's guidance, including red flag indicators under the Prevention of Money Laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules, 2005, requires migration from FINNET 1.0 and immediate registration by entities not yet registered in view of the FATF mutual evaluation. SEBI issues the advisory under its regulatory powers to protect investors and to regulate the securities market, and publishes the circular on its website.

Testing framework requirement: MIIs must implement comprehensive IT system testing, validation, and governance before production deployment.
MIIs must establish a comprehensive testing framework requiring extensive pre deployment testing, validation and documentation; testing in a production like environment; automated testing and traceability matrices; policies for third party integrations; validation of core code and APIs; regression and white box testing; non functional tests including performance, stress and BCP testing; prompt tracking and remediation of defects with escalation of major issues to SCOT; documentation of all test results including UAT for audit review.

Transition bond disclosure: issuers must use GB-T denotation and disclose transition plan, progress and revisions.
Issuers of transition bonds must label instruments with the denotation GB-T and include a Transition Plan detailing interim targets with indicative emissions reductions, project implementation strategy, technology use, and an oversight mechanism for utilisation of proceeds. GB-T must be recorded in the Centralised Database and prefixed in instrument details by depositories. Issuers must disclose any revisions to the Transition Plan to stock exchanges and report implementation progress in the annual report; stock exchanges will monitor these disclosures. The requirements are effective immediately.