Portfolio manager-client agreements must define fiduciary services, discretionary and non-discretionary responsibilities, investment objectives, client restrictions, risk disclosures, custody, separate accounts, reporting and inspection rights. They must prohibit contractual changes without prior client consent and require transparent fee, expense and billing terms. Liability provisions must address negligence, wilful misfeasance and acts of intermediaries while limiting client liability to the investment amount. Agreements must also cover termination, death or disability, assignment, governing law, grievance redressal, dispute resolution and arbitration.

Portfolio managers must act honestly, fairly, skilfully, carefully and diligently in investors' interests, maintain high service standards and independent professional judgment, and place clients' interests above their own. They must avoid conflicts in investment or disinvestment decisions or ensure fair treatment where conflicts arise, disclose possible conflict sources, and must not execute proprietary-account trades against client interests. They must provide true and adequate information, disclose investment risks, and give advice suited to clients' needs.

India's Finance Minister will participate in multilateral and bilateral economic discussions addressing economic developments, financial-sector issues, the global economic outlook, development priorities, international financial cooperation, and reform of the international financial architecture. Related engagements will examine trade resilience, investment opportunities, and mobilisation of private capital for urban and water infrastructure, while highlighting India's economic performance and reform priorities.

Portfolio manager fees include application fees, registration fees, and renewal fees payable every three years. Payment must be made by direct credit into the designated bank account through NEFT, RTGS, IMPS, the SEBI Payment Gateway, online payment, or another mode specified by the Board.

Regulation 46 repeals the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Portfolio Managers) Regulations, 2020, while preserving actions, registrations, approvals, investigations, proceedings, rights, liabilities, and penalties arising under the repealed regime. Pending applications are deemed made under corresponding provisions of the 2026 Regulations. References in other regulations, guidelines, and circulars to the repealed Regulations are treated as references to corresponding provisions of the 2026 Regulations.

Regulation 45 authorises the Board to issue clarifications or guidelines, through notes or circulars, to remove difficulties in applying or interpreting the Portfolio Managers Regulations. These clarifications and guidelines are binding on portfolio managers, who must comply with the Board's directions and treat them as mandatory in relation to application and interpretation difficulties under the regulations.

The Board may grant a time-limited exemption from all or specified Portfolio Managers Regulations to a person or class of persons. The exemption may operate for up to twelve months and is intended to support live-environment testing of innovative products, processes, services and business models in the securities-market regulatory sandbox. Applicants must satisfy conditions specified by the Board.

Regulation 43 permits relaxation of strict enforcement for portfolio managers where it serves clients' interests or securities market development. Relaxation may be procedural or technical, arise from non-compliance caused by factors beyond the portfolio manager's control, or prevent undue hardship to clients. Applications must state the relevant details and grounds, be filed with the Board, and be accompanied by a non-refundable prescribed fee through authorised payment modes.

Portfolio managers who contravene the Act, rules, regulations, or circulars and guidelines issued under them are liable to action available under securities laws or any other law in force. Regulation 42 places this liability within the procedure for action in case of default and preserves enforcement consequences authorised by applicable securities and other laws. Liability arises from such non-compliance and is not confined to a single enforcement framework.

Inspection expense recovery permits the Board to recover from a portfolio manager expenses it incurs for the purposes of inspecting or investigating that manager's books of account, records and documents. Recoverable costs include, without limitation, auditor fees paid for such inspection or investigation. The portfolio manager bears these expenses where its books, records and documents are examined or investigated by the Board.

Regulation 40 permits the Board to appoint a qualified auditor, in addition to an inspecting authority, to inspect or investigate a portfolio manager's books of account or affairs. The appointed auditor has the same powers as the inspecting authority under regulation 35, and the portfolio manager must comply with the obligations under regulation 37 during the auditor's inspection or investigation.

Action on inspection or investigation reports permits the Board, after considering such reports, to take measures it considers fit and appropriate. Available measures include action under securities laws or any other law in force, enabling a regulatory response to matters identified through inspection or investigation.

Regulation 38 requires the inspecting authority, in inspection and disciplinary proceedings concerning portfolio managers, to submit an inspection report to the Board as soon as possible. The obligation establishes a prompt reporting mechanism through which inspection findings are placed before the Board for consideration within the applicable regulatory and disciplinary framework.

Portfolio managers and their directors, partners, officers and employees must produce relevant books, accounts and documents, and furnish information concerning portfolio-management activities within the required time. They must permit reasonable access to relevant premises and records, including computer data, provide copies of material relevant to inspection, and facilitate examination or recording of statements. All such persons must provide reasonable assistance connected with the inspection.

Inspection procedure requires the Board to give reasonable notice before commencing an inspection under Regulation 35. The Board may dispense with notice where it records written reasons that dispensing with notice serves investor interests or the public interest. During the inspection, the portfolio manager remains bound to discharge all obligations provided under Regulation 37.

Inspection of portfolio managers may be undertaken by persons appointed by the Board to verify maintenance of books, records and documents, and compliance with applicable statutory and regulatory requirements. Inspection may investigate complaints concerning a portfolio manager's activities and may also be initiated on the Board's own motion in the interests of the securities market or investors.

The Board may prescribe additional conditions and restrictions for effective implementation of the portfolio manager regulatory framework, including client segregation, maintenance of records, fees, and limits on investments in associates of a portfolio manager. These conditions may apply to the portfolio management service route for investment in mutual fund units where appropriate.

A portfolio manager must not accept from a client funds, securities, or their combination valued below twenty-five lakh rupees. Renewal of a portfolio upon expiry of the initial agreement period is deemed a fresh investment and remains subject to the minimum-investment requirement.

Portfolio managers may invest client funds only in direct plans of mutual funds in India. Permissible investments include index funds, exchange traded funds and specialised investment funds.

Regulation 31 establishes eligibility criteria for registration of a portfolio manager exclusively offering Portfolio Management Service Route for Investment in Mutual Fund Units (PRIM). The applicant must maintain adequate infrastructure, appoint a principal officer and compliance officer, and maintain the prescribed minimum net worth separately from capital requirements for other business activities. The principal officer must hold prescribed qualifications, valid NISM certification, and at least two years' relevant securities-market experience.