Renewal of recognition under securities regulation permits an exchange to operate subject to prescribed compliance conditions.
Renewal of recognition was granted to India International Exchange (IFSC) Limited for a one-year term authorising contracts in securities, on the basis that renewal was in the interest of trade and public interest, and subject to compliance with conditions prescribed by the regulator and any additional conditions that may be imposed.

Recognition renewal for a clearing corporation under securities regulations subject to regulatory conditions and ongoing compliance.
Renewal of recognition under Regulation 12 of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) (Stock Exchanges and Clearing Corporations) Regulations, 2012 is granted to India International Clearing Corporation (IFSC) Ltd for a fixed one year period under powers conferred by section 4 read with sub section (4) of section 8A of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956, on the condition that the clearing corporation shall comply with conditions specified by the regulator from time to time and with any conditions that may be prescribed or imposed subsequently.

Summary Settlement Procedure allows SEBI to offer settlement notices enabling resolution upon payment and specified undertakings.
The amendment inserts a Summary Settlement Procedure allowing the Board to issue a settlement notice inviting a noticee to file a settlement application, remit a settlement amount and/or furnish or comply with non monetary undertakings for specified defaults (such as late filings, delayed or missing disclosures, format failures and other Board determined violations). The noticee must act within prescribed periods or seek rectification of amount discrepancies; the Board may extend time limits, may refuse settlement for incomplete disclosure or non cooperation, and retains power to modify enforcement action. Schedule III sets out the notice form and required content.

Debt securities issuance by InvITs permitted; such securities must be listed on recognized stock exchanges.
Amendments require the valuer to be a "registered valuer" under the Companies Act, 2013; permit listed InvITs to issue debt securities provided those securities are listed on recognized stock exchanges; confine minimum investment and trading lot rules to "completed and revenue generating assets"; mandate conversion of compulsorily convertible securities to equity of the holdco or SPV prior to filing the offer document where their holding period was used for offer-for-sale calculations; and add an annual report disclosure on monies lent by the InvIT to its holding company or investee SPV.

Definition of debt securities expanded to expressly include NCDs and securities of REITs and InvITs listed on exchanges.
The amendment redefines debt securities as non-convertible debt securities creating or acknowledging indebtedness, expressly including debentures, bonds and securities of a body corporate, a Trust registered as a Real Estate Investment Trust or an Infrastructure Investment Trust, or any statutory body constituted by legislation, whether or not constituting a charge on assets, while excluding government bonds, security receipts and securitized debt instruments. It also clarifies that references to a "recognized stock exchange" include Trusts registered as REITs or InvITs whose units are listed on recognized stock exchange(s).

Strategic investor definition broadened to permit specified investors to participate, with new debt issuance and disclosure requirements.
Amendments introduce a defined strategic investor category and align the term valuer with "registered valuer" under the Companies Act. Compulsorily convertible securities may be included for holding-period calculations but must be converted to equity before filing an offer document. Listed REITs may issue listed debt securities. Disclosure requirements are expanded to require reporting of monies lent by the REIT to its holding company or SPVs and commitments from strategic investors are to be captured in schedules.

Appointment of Part Time Member under SEBI Act places Ministry nominee on the regulator with immediate effect.
The Central Government appoints Shri Injeti Srinivas, Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, as a Part Time Member of the Securities and Exchange Board of India under Clause (b), Sub section (1) read with Sub Section 3 of Section 4 of the SEBI Act, by government notification, with immediate effect and until further orders.

Executive Director appointment powers establish designated authority and bench procedure for initiating proceedings under Intermediaries Regulations.
Amendment defines Executive Director and provides that where a designated member considers a registered intermediary has committed defaults under regulation 23, the designated member may approve initiation of proceedings and the Executive Director shall appoint an officer not below Division Chief as designated authority. The Executive Director may instead appoint a three-member bench of such officers, presided by the senior-most, with decisions by majority.

Recognition renewal of clearing corporation granted, subject to compliance with regulator-prescribed conditions for a one-year term.
Recognition of Metropolitan Clearing Corporation of India Limited is renewed for a one-year term commencing in early October 2017 and ending in early October 2018, granted under the regulator's statutory powers as being in the interest of trade, the securities market and the public, and expressly made subject to compliance with conditions specified by the regulator from time to time and any further conditions that may be prescribed or imposed.

Recognition renewal for clearing corporation granted under securities regulation, subject to SEBI conditions and compliance.
Recognition renewal is granted to National Securities Clearing Corporation Ltd under Regulation 12 of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) (Stock Exchanges and Clearing Corporations) Regulations, 2012 by exercise of powers under section 4 read with sub section (4) of section 8A of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956, for a fixed three year period and subject to conditions and compliance obligations specified by the regulator and any further conditions that may be prescribed or imposed.

Renewal of clearing corporation recognition authorises Indian Clearing Corporation Limited for a three-year regulated mandate under Regulation 12.
Renewal of recognition under Regulation 12 was granted to Indian Clearing Corporation Limited for a three year period commencing October 2017 and ending October 2020, under the statutory powers of section 4 read with sub section (4) of section 8A of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956. The recognition is subject to compliance with conditions specified by the regulator and any further conditions that may be prescribed or imposed.

Renewal of recognition under SCRA: exchange authorised for limited period subject to regulatory compliance and conditions.
Renewal of recognition under the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act was granted to Metropolitan Stock Exchange of India Limited in exercise of powers under section 4, authorising the Exchange to deal in contracts in securities for a limited one-year period commencing in September 2017 and ending in September 2018, expressly subject to compliance with conditions prescribed or imposed by SEBI and any additional stated conditions.

Preferential issue to lenders allowed under debt restructuring subject to independent valuation and Companies Act compliance.
Regulation 70 is amended to exempt preferential allotments linked to debt restructuring from Chapter restrictions where RBI specified guidelines govern conversion or issue price, pricing is certified by two independent qualified valuers (with transitional valuer definitions), allotted securities are subject to specified lock in periods (one year for lender conversions; at least three years for transfers/ownership changes), lock ins are reduced to the extent of prior locking of convertible securities, shareholder special resolution and Companies Act compliance are obtained, and specified disclosures about proposed allottees and turnaround plans are made.

Acquisition exemptions under takeover rules expanded to include insolvency resolution plans and RBI-guided debt restructuring.
Amendments expand takeover exemptions to include acquisitions under an Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code resolution plan and RBI-guided debt restructuring, add tribunals alongside courts, and provide that lender conversions and purchases from lenders are exempt only if conditions are met: RBI-prescribed pricing certified by two independent valuers, three-year lock-in (with adjustments for prior lock-ins), shareholder special resolution, and enhanced issuer disclosures including ultimate beneficial owners, business model, audited financials and turnaround roadmap.

Eligibility expansion for intermediaries: adds category II to permitted participants in specified allotments under issue rules.
The amendment inserts category II into the proviso to regulation 37, clause (b), thereby bringing both category I and category II within that proviso's scope. The regulation takes effect on publication in the Official Gazette and applies to red herring prospectuses registered with the Registrar of Companies on or after commencement.

Appointment of Member: notification amends the serial entry to designate Anand Mohan Bajaj as Joint Secretary and Member.
Amendment substitutes the serial number 2 entry in the prior notification to designate Anand Mohan Bajaj as Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, and as a Member, effected under the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992, with an official file reference and a recorded history of prior substitutions and amendments to the principal notification.

Pledge creation timelines: depositories must, after pledgee concurrence, record pledges and notify participants within prescribed timeframe.
The substituted provision requires that upon receipt of a pledge application the depository, after obtaining concurrence of the pledgee through its participant, create and record the pledge and send an intimation to the participants of both the pledger and the pledgee, to be completed within fifteen days of receipt of the application.

Regulatory fee collection required from offshore derivative instrument subscribers to be deposited periodically by foreign portfolio investors.
FPIs must collect a regulatory fee from every subscriber of offshore derivative instruments and deposit it with the Board by electronic transfer into the designated bank account; the fee amount may be specified by the Board. The fee is payable once every three years, with a transitional requirement to collect and deposit the fee for the three year block beginning April 1, 2017 within two months of this amendment's notification.

Amendment to rule 19A tenure: extends the proviso's prescribed period from three years to four years.
The Securities Contracts (Regulation) (Third Amendment) Rules, 2017 substitute the words "four years" for "three years" in the proviso to rule 19A(1) of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Rules, 1957, extending the prescribed period in that proviso; the amendment is made under section 30 of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956 and comes into force on its publication in the Official Gazette.

Rule 8 amendment expands exemption scope to specified corporations by revising provisos and cross references under the securities contracts rules framework.
The 2017 amendment to the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Rules, 1957 modifies rule 8: it omits the first proviso in sub rule (1)(f), substitutes the second proviso to exempt corporations, bodies corporate, companies or institutions referred to in clauses (a) to (n) of sub rule (8), and replaces the cross reference in sub rule (3)(f)(iii) from "items (a) to (n) of the proviso to sub rule (4)" to "clauses (a) to (n) of sub rule (8)"; the rules take effect on publication in the Official Gazette.