Innovation Sandbox enables controlled access to anonymized market test data and environments to foster FinTech innovation under graded eligibility.
Innovation Sandbox provides staged access to anonymized historical securities market test data and enabling organizations' test environments for FinTechs, startups and other applicants; Stage I offers resource-capped access subject to KYC and demonstrable testing need, while Stage II allows expanded access after demonstrated progress, a post-testing plan, investor/market benefit and steering committee approval. Access is delivered via APIs and test platforms, governed by confidentiality/end-user agreements, with IPR claims excluded and lifecycle management through a digital portal.

Limited Purpose Clearing Corporation requirement obliges AMCs to contribute proportionate capital for corporate debt repo clearing
AMCs must participate in establishing a Limited Purpose Clearing Corporation (LPCC) for clearing and settling corporate debt repo transactions, contributing capital in proportion to the Average AUM of specified open-ended debt-oriented schemes for FY 2019-20 as calculated by AMFI. Contributions are obligatory and must comply with networth, conditions and timelines under the SECC Regulations and related circulars, with AMCs required to maintain the networth prescribed under Regulation 21(f) over and above the LPCC contribution.

SEBI revises Mutual Funds Monthly Cumulative Report format to add scheme category and segregated portfolios reporting.
SEBI revised the Monthly Cumulative Report format effective January 2021 (Annexure A) to add a new scheme category and require explicit reporting of segregated portfolios and their AUM, with detailed columns for schemes, folios, net inflow/outflow, redemptions, net assets and average AUM; the revision covers open ended, close ended and interval schemes and preserves other conditions from the prior circular.

Procedural relaxation for rights issues extended, subject to continued compliance with specified circular conditions.
SEBI extends the one-time procedural relaxation for Rights Issues provided earlier, making the specified waiver in the prior circular applicable for Rights Issues opening up to March 31, 2021, provided the issuer and Lead Manager(s) continue to comply with the specified remaining condition(s) in that prior circular; the extension is issued under Sections 11(1) and 11A of the SEBI Act and Regulations 299 and 300 of the ICDR Regulations and is effective from the date of issue.

Cumulative gross exposure in ETCDs clarified: specified short positions excluded; mutual funds barred from writing options.
Specifies that, for calculating cumulative gross exposure in Exchange Traded Commodity Derivatives (ETCDs), short positions up to the quantity of underlying goods received in physical settlement and short positions up to the long position in the same goods shall be excluded; additionally mutual funds are prohibited from writing options or purchasing instruments with embedded written options in goods or on commodity futures.

Relaxation of LODR compliance: electronic-mode general meeting exemptions extended, maintaining waiver of physical report and proxy requirements.
Extension of LODR relaxations permits listed entities to conduct general meetings through electronic modes and preserves the exemption from sending physical annual reports and from requiring proxies for meetings held via video conferencing or other audiovisual means; stock exchanges are directed to notify listed entities and disseminate the circular, which takes immediate effect under the regulator's statutory powers.

Volatility Scan Range mandated: exchanges must adopt minimum VSRs by commodity class and conduct monthly backtesting and adjustments.
Prescribes minimum Volatility Scan Range (VSR) thresholds for option contracts by volatility category and commodity type; requires clearing corporations to backtest VSR monthly using three years' data, employing appropriate volatility estimation models (such as EWMA and implied volatility) over the relevant Margin Period of Risk; changes identified by the 15th must be implemented from the first trading day of the following month; circular effective from the first trading day of April and issued under SEBI's regulatory powers.

Daily price limits for commodity futures revised to slab-based mechanism with cooling-off, VWAP base rules and exchange reporting.
The circular revises Daily Price Limits for commodity futures by fixing the base price as prior closing (with VWAP-based rules for first trading day), prescribing initial, enhanced and aggregate slab mechanics with a fifteen-minute cooling-off period after breaches, permitting staged or exceptional relaxations tied to international price movements with immediate reporting to SEBI's surveillance, detailing VWAP-based daily settlement calculations, allowing exchanges to impose narrower DPLs based on surveillance or liquidity, and requiring system, bye-law and disclosure changes prior to implementation.

Transfer of excess Stock Exchange contributions between Core SGFs permitted, subject to direct inter clearing transfer and Minimum Required Corpus compliance.
Transfers of a Stock Exchange's excess contribution are permitted from the Core SGF of one Clearing Corporation to the Core SGF of another in an interoperable scenario. Transfers must be initiated on request of the Exchange, effected directly by the Clearing Corporation receiving the request to the destination Core SGF, with intimation to the Exchange, and must preserve compliance with the Minimum Required Corpus of Core SGF prescribed by the regulator.

Exemption from proviso compliance requires investor waiver in prescribed format under SEBI AIF regulatory framework.
Exemption from applicability of clauses (i) and (ii) of the first proviso to Regulation 20(6) of the AIF Regulations is subject to specified conditions, including each investor furnishing a waiver to the AIF in the manner prescribed by SEBI; the circular provides the waiver format at Annexure I and issues the guidance under SEBI's investor-protection and regulatory powers.

Monthly reporting by portfolio managers: detailed AUM, inflows/outflows, transactions, performance and complaints required each month.
SEBI requires portfolio managers to submit monthly reports on the Intermediaries Portal within seven working days after month-end using the revised Annexure A format. The template collects detailed data by service type-discretionary, non-discretionary, advisory-covering client break-ups, AUM by asset class and approach, funds inflows/outflows (monthly and fiscal YTD), transaction data including portfolio turnover ratio, performance metrics with benchmark comparisons, and a complaints matrix showing pending, received and resolved counts.

Refund of security deposit: Exchanges must follow prescribed retention and release timelines upon member surrender to protect investors.
SEBI prescribes retention and release timelines for security deposits after approval of Trading Member surrender: client-facing members' deposits are to be released only after the earlier of three years from receipt of surrender application or five years from disablement of trading terminals; members who conducted only proprietary trading in the preceding three years have deposits released after the earlier of one year from receipt of surrender application or three years from disablement. Exchanges must amend bye-laws, notify members, provide website dissemination, report implementation to SEBI, and maintain arbitration mechanisms for claims.