Digital signature validity on contract notes affirmed; brokers may issue digitally signed notes subject to certified signature and client agreement.
Use of digital signatures on securities contract notes is legally valid under the Information Technology Act. Brokers may issue contract notes authenticated by digital signatures provided they have obtained a digital signature certificate from a Certifying Authority under the Act. Client confirmation procedures are to be as specified in the broker-client agreement.

Vanishing company reporting: prescribed criteria and mandatory complaint format for investor submissions to regulator for action.
A reporting and intake framework requires investors and investor associations to submit complaints about suspected vanishing companies in prescribed Forms A and B to the Vanishing Companies Section of the Primary Market Department at SEBI head office or the appropriate regional office. A company may be classified as vanished where it has failed to comply with listing or ROC filing requirements for two years, has ceased correspondence with the exchange, or lacks a functioning registered office on inspection; non trading alone is not a basis for classification.

Risk containment for index options: portfolio based margining, scenario based worst case loss and cash settled premiums with limits.
A portfolio based margining regime requires Initial Margin calibrated to a one day Value at Risk and computed at the individual client level, with grossing at trading/clearing member level. Worst Scenario Loss is calculated by valuing portfolios under prescribed price and volatility scenarios using standard option pricing models and forms the primary margin requirement, supplemented by Calendar Spread Margin and a Short Option Minimum Margin on notional short exposures. Premiums are cash settled on T+1, unpaid premiums reduce liquid net worth in real time, futures mark to market remains cash settled, and position limits apply on a notional basis.

Abolition of no delivery period for dematerialised scrips and reduced minimum interval between book closures to enhance trading.
Abolition of the No Delivery Period for scrips traded in compulsory dematerialised mode removes delivery prohibitions during book closures for dividends and bonus issues while preserving the existing treatment for rights issues. The required minimum interval between successive book closures and record dates under the listing agreement is reduced, and exchanges must amend the listing agreement accordingly. Exchanges are also directed to implement mandatory client-level broker codes in trading software, with non-compliance resulting in prohibition from conducting Modified Carry Forward System and Automated Lending and Borrowing Mechanism sessions.

Compulsory dematerialised trading imposed where depository connectivity exists, with non connected scrips confined to trade for trade settlement.
Compulsory dematerialised trading is mandated for specified scrips that have established connectivity with both depositories; those meeting the connectivity requirement will be placed on normal trading and, following a three month interval from the connectivity date, will be compulsorily traded in dematerialised form for all investors. Scrips failing to establish connectivity by the scheduled dates will be confined to the exchanges' trade for trade settlement window until compliance, and the circular provides annexed lists identifying scrips subject to each treatment.

On-line offer of securities: enables E-IPO issuance via exchange system with broker collection centres and escrow safeguards.
Permits companies to conduct initial public offers via an on-line stock exchange system for fixed-price issues, subject to an agreement with exchange(s), appointment of SEBI-registered brokers as collection centres, a Registrar with electronic connectivity, disclosure of intermediaries, escrow account procedures for brokers, broker financial responsibility for client defaults, daily forwarding of valid order data, fair basis of allocation, mechanisms for refund and allotment including dematerialisation, record retention, and SEBI/exchange inspection and supervision.

Initial offer period reduction and prescribed portfolio disclosure accelerate investor information and unclaimed funds rules.
SEBI mandates operational and disclosure measures for mutual funds: reduction of the initial offer period for open ended schemes and expedited dispatch of account statements; a prescribed half yearly portfolio disclosure format with marks for NPAs and illiquid securities and specified footnotes; rules for investment, claimant treatment and management fee cap on unclaimed redemption/dividend amounts with disclosure requirements; limitations on scheme chargeable expenses and required disclosure of significant expense items; and committee based approval for unrated debt investments subject to preapproved parameters and trustee reporting.

Risk containment measures mandate exposure controls and margining for rolling settlement and related CNS/CFRS/ALBRS products.
Gross exposure is the aggregate of a member's open positions comprising net positions of the previous four trading days, positions created on the day and net positions of the next five settlements; gross exposure margin is calculated on the worst case highest net outstanding position for unsettled days. Mark to market margins applicable under account period settlement apply to rolling settlement. Existing per scrip and member aggregate limits continue for CFRS and ALBRS, the account period margin structure applies to CFRS, ALBRS and CNS (CNS margins on sell side only), and exchanges shall consolidate T 2 deferral positions to identify scrips attracting incremental margins.

Uniform margin requirement replaces stratified slabs for carry forward and lending-borrowing positions and mandates investor education.
SEBI instructed exchanges to replace stratified margin slabs with a uniform margin for carry forward positions in the Modified Carry Forward System (MCFS) and for trade positions in the Automated Lending and Borrowing Mechanism (ALBM). It also directed exchanges to undertake educational and awareness programmes to familiarise investors with new products including Carry Forward under Rolling Settlement (CFRS), Automated Lending and Borrowing under Rolling Settlement (ALBRS) and Continuous Net Settlement (CNS).

Market infrastructure update: compulsory rolling settlement scrips to receive CNS, CFRS and ALBRS facilities after exchange notice.
SEBI directed that fifteen scrips traded in the compulsory rolling settlement shall be enabled for Continuous Net Settlement (CNS), Carry Forward under Rolling Settlement (CFRS) and Automated Lending and Borrowing Mechanism under Rolling Settlement (ALBRS), and instructed eligible exchanges to announce commencement dates for these facilities after providing due notice to the market.

Compulsory dematerialized trading requires companies to establish depository connectivity before mandatory market settlement in dematerialised form.
Companies must establish connectivity with both depositories and observe a three month interval after confirmed connectivity before their scrips become subject to compulsory dematerialized trading. Scrips of companies that fail to establish connectivity by the scheduled date are to be traded only in the trade for trade settlement window until depositories confirm connectivity, after which they revert to normal trading and eventually to compulsory dematerialized trading following the three month period.

Multiple membership eligibility relaxed where admission under Rule 8 permits cross exchange membership, subject to existing norms.
SEBI relaxes the prior-operation period requirement for multiple stock exchange membership: the minimum-duration barrier does not apply to any member-corporate or individual-admitted under Rule 8 of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Rules, 1957; other norms on multiple membership continue to apply.

Valuation guidelines for mutual fund securities: phased compliance for equity valuation, debt valuation, and NPA provisioning requirements.
Staggered implementation of valuation and provisioning guidelines requires mutual funds to apply a valuation framework to non-traded and thinly traded equity and equity-related securities and to maintain provisioning standards for identification of NPAs, with separate effective dates for equity-related measures and for valuation of non-traded and thinly traded debt instruments.

Dematerialised trading required: Two company scrips must be traded only in dematerialised form and removed from trade-for-trade.
Two listed scrips are required to be traded compulsorily in dematerialised form for all investors after depository connectivity was established, and those scrips are to be excluded from the stock exchanges' "trade for trade settlement" window and settled only in dematerialised form.

Renewal of FII registration requires prescribed filings; late or no application results in suspension or cancellation of registration.
Renewal of Foreign Institutional Investor registration requires filing Form A three months before expiry with Annexure I information, the audited annual report for the last year, evidence of regulation or registration by an appropriate securities authority or SRO, and a photocopy of the current registration certificate; sub-accounts must be renewed simultaneously as they are co-terminus with the parent FII. Failure to file timely may lead to suspension during processing; non-submission results in automatic cancellation and lapse of foreign exchange permissions affecting repatriation.

Compulsory dematerialised trading: non connected issuers' shares restricted to trade for trade settlement on exchanges until connectivity established.
SEBI mandates that listed scrips which have not executed depository agreements or established connectivity with both depositories shall be routed exclusively to the exchanges' trade for trade settlement window until such agreements and connectivity are completed, with affected scrips identified in the circular's annexures and phased into this settlement restriction per the implementation schedule.

Valuation and provisioning of non-performing assets: mutual funds must follow specified valuation methodology and phased provisioning schedule.
SEBI prescribes valuation norms requiring mutual funds to categorise securities as traded, thinly traded or non-traded and to apply specified valuation approaches: equity non-traded/thinly traded securities are valued by averaging net worth per share and a discounted industry P/E-based capitalised earnings measure with illiquidity discounts; non-traded debt over 182 days is priced on yield-to-maturity using a GOI-based benchmark duration-bucket curve and a dynamic spread matrix, with mark-ups/mark-downs for illiquidity and internal ratings and mandatory independent valuation where a security exceeds 5% of scheme assets.

Independent directors classification clarified: institutional directors are independent except in government companies; committee limits apply to three public-company committees.
Institutional directors are to be treated as independent directors except in government companies. For committee-membership limits, only public limited companies are counted and other company types are excluded; only the Audit Committee, the Shareholders' Grievance Committee and the Remuneration Committee are to be considered. Stock exchanges must amend their listing agreements and notify SEBI.

Carry forward under rolling settlement permits investors to extend positions with separate tenure screens and defined squaring-off procedures.
Carry forward, automated lending and borrowing, and continuous net settlement in rolling settlement create mechanisms to extend trade obligations, enable temporary transfer of securities through lending/borrowing sessions with staggered settlement legs, and provide post-settlement, delivery-initiated netting where short deliveries are marked to closing price and postponed to subsequent settlements; exchanges must demonstrate adequate software, governance, margining and surveillance to obtain approval and scrip and risk criteria will be issued separately.

Prohibition on negotiated deals mandates on screen exchange execution; SEBI may allow case-by-case exemptions for PSU disinvestment.
Prohibition on negotiated deals mandates that all transactions be executed on exchanges' electronic price- and order-matching systems; exchanges could grant exemptions where scrips reached FII investment limits. SEBI now also may grant case-by-case exemptions to permit off-market dis-investment of Public Sector Enterprises, establishing SEBI discretion for PSU disinvestment alongside exchange-level exemptions.