Parental leave and gender-neutral language: expanded maternity, adoption and paternity leave rights; promotions and conduct rules updated.
The amendments introduce gender neutral language, expand parental leave to include commissioning mothers and adoptive mothers and permit paternity leave for surrogacy fathers; set promotions and upgradations at the Board's discretion under Competent Authority policies; broaden media publication controls with disclaimer requirements; align asset declaration with the Lokpal and Lokayuktas framework; add commodity derivatives to investment restrictions; and repeal the 1988 Service Regulations with savings for prior actions.

Video conferencing participation permitted for board meetings, with full rights, quorum effect, attendance recording and security requirements.
Amendments establish a procedure allowing Members to participate in Board meetings via video conferencing or other audio-visual means upon prior intimation, require the Board to arrange the facility and provide the meeting link, count remote participants for quorum, vest them with the same rights and obligations as in-person attendees, record their attendance as remote and deem it signed, disclose remote participation in minutes, and prescribe security and identification measures to safeguard meeting integrity.

Regulatory board member appointment: Government nominates Ministry of Corporate Affairs Secretary as member replacing predecessor.
The Central Government, under sub section (4) read with sub section (1) of Section 4 of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992, has nominated Dr. Manoj Govil, Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, as Member of the Board in place of Shri Rajesh Verma, ex Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, by amending the principal notification S.O. 195(E) dated 9.3.1992 through a formal Government notification.

Relaxation of listing requirements permitted where Central Government seeks regulatory flexibility for strategic disinvestment, subject to investor protection.
A new sub regulation inserted into regulation 102 authorises the Board to relax strict enforcement of any requirement of the Listing Regulations if the Central Government applies in relation to its strategic disinvestment in a listed entity, provided the Board, after due consideration of the interest of investors and the securities market and for the development of the securities market, grants such relaxation.

Insider trading restrictions in mutual fund units impose trading bans when holding unpublished price sensitive information and mandate compliance controls.
The amendment creates a Chapter governing mutual fund units that bars communication or trading on unpublished price sensitive information except for board-approved legitimate purposes, requires confidentiality agreements and treats recipients as insiders, mandates AMCs and related persons to maintain an internally held structured digital database with audit trails preserved for at least eight years, and imposes internal controls, disclosure and reporting obligations to prevent and investigate leaks.

Pre filing draft offer document enables structured Board review, public comments and mandatory due diligence before an IPO.
A new pre filing framework allows issuers to file a draft offer document with the Board via lead managers, requires simultaneous stock exchange filing and specific promoter identifiers, and obliges lead managers to submit due diligence certificates (new Forms AA, CA, DA). The Board may issue observations within defined triggers; issuers must file updated draft red herring prospectuses, host the updated draft for public comments, incorporate changes, and file the final offer document with supporting auditor and promoter contribution confirmations. Larger issues must engage a credit rating agency to monitor use of proceeds and provide quarterly reports until full utilisation.

Transfer of proceeds and dividends: funds must remit within Board specified timeframes, with interest for delay and limited physical dispatch.
The amendment replaces Regulation 53 to require mutual funds and asset management companies to transfer dividend payments and redemption or repurchase proceeds to unitholders within periods to be specified by the Board; asset management companies must pay interest to unitholders for delays at Board-specified rates. Payment of interest does not bar separate action for failure to transfer within stipulated time. Physical despatch of payments is limited to exceptional circumstances and must be recorded with reasons.

Asset segregation and ring-fencing required to keep each AIF scheme's assets, liabilities and accounts separate.
The amendment mandates that AIFs declare the first close of a scheme in a Board-specified manner and, failing that, must reapply and pay the scheme fee; the Board may prescribe the method for calculating and modifying the tenure of close-ended schemes; notice provisions are expanded to cover Sponsor or Manager changes with possible fees and conditions; and Managers together with trustees or governing persons must segregate and ring-fence each scheme's assets, liabilities, bank accounts and securities accounts.

Orderly winding down frameworks required for clearing corporations to ensure transfer or settlement of positions and collateral.
Every clearing corporation must devise and maintain a framework for orderly winding down of its critical operations and services covering voluntary and involuntary scenarios, providing for timely and orderly settlement, cessation or transfer of positions, transfer of members' collateral, deposits, margins or other assets to another recognized clearing corporation that would take over operations, and other related matters, in accordance with guidelines specified by the Board.

No objection letter for schemes of arrangement: prior stock exchange clearance required before filing the scheme with the adjudicatory authority.
Amendments require listed entities with listed non-convertible debt securities or non-convertible redeemable preference shares to file a draft scheme of arrangement with stock exchange(s) and pay a prescribed fee to obtain a No-objection letter before filing the scheme with the adjudicatory authority; the No-objection letter is valid for six months. Stock exchanges must forward drafts to the Board, assess compliance with securities laws and issue No-objection Letters within Board-specified timelines, and place objections before the adjudicatory authority at sanction. Upon sanction, entities and exchanges must submit prescribed documents and recommendations to the Board.

Online bond platform registration requires stock broker certification and compliance, with limited transitional relief for existing operators.
Operators of online bond platforms must obtain a certificate of registration from the Board as a stock broker and comply with registration conditions and additional requirements specified by the Board. The Chapter defines online bond platform providers and platforms as electronic systems, excluding recognised stock exchanges and electronic book providers, where listed or proposed debt securities are offered and transacted. Existing operators without registration may continue to operate for a limited transitional period or until disposal of a timely application.

InvITs prohibited from engaging in Chapter VIA activities; issuance rules narrowed and Board empowered to grant listing exemptions.
No InvIT shall undertake any activity under Chapter VIA. Multiple issuance-related sub-regulations in regulations 17, 22, 26A, 26B, 26C and 26D are omitted or edited to narrow issuance procedures. Regulation 26F is renumbered and a new sub-regulation empowers the Board to grant exemptions to InvITs that have issued units under the Chapter to facilitate listing on a recognized nationwide stock exchange.

Sponsor holding requirement strengthened; sponsors remain liable for formation and asset transfers to the REIT.
Sponsors and sponsor groups must collectively retain a prescribed minimum stake in the REIT for a defined post-listing lock-in, with any excess holdings subject to an additional retention period; sponsors and sponsor groups remain liable to the REIT, trustees and unit holders for acts, omissions, representations or covenants related to the REIT's formation and to the sale or transfer of assets, holdcos or SPVs to the REIT irrespective of any contractual provision.

Fee amendments reduce prescribed fees for foreign portfolio and venture capital investors under SEBI regulations, effective immediately.
SEBI amends the Payment of Fees regulations effective 1 November 2022 by substituting specified fee amounts in the Second Schedule of the Foreign Portfolio Investors Regulations, 2019 (reducing amounts in Part A clause 1 and Part C clause 1), and by substituting Part A of the Second Schedule to the Foreign Venture Capital Investors Regulations, 2000 with a table prescribing the application fee and registration fee for foreign venture capital investors.

Price determination exception for public sector disinvestment where control changes; bank guarantees permitted for open offers.
The amendment carves out an exception to the open offer price determination for disinvestment of a public sector undertaking by the Central or a State Government where there is a change in control, and permits unconditional, irrevocable bank guarantees from scheduled commercial banks-subject to Reserve Bank approval-as an alternative to cash for open offer obligations, provided such banks have an AAA rating on long term debt from a credit rating agency registered with SEBI.

Clearing corporation activity restriction: limited to clearing and settling repo and reverse repo in exchange-traded debt securities.
SEBI amends its earlier notification with retrospective effect from 17 January 2022 to insert a proviso that the Clearing Corporation shall not undertake any activity except that of clearing and settling transactions in repo and reverse repo in the debt securities that are dealt with or traded on a recognised stock exchange.

Renewal of recognition for a stock exchange confirmed, conditional on ongoing regulatory compliance and prescribed conditions.
Renewal of recognition is granted to the Metropolitan Stock Exchange of India Limited under the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956, authorising the Exchange to deal in contracts in securities for a limited renewal period; the renewal is subject to compliance with conditions that SEBI may prescribe or impose from time to time as a continuing precondition of its recognised status.

Renewal of recognition: clearing corporation authorised for a multi-year term under securities contract regulations, subject to compliance.
SEBI has renewed recognition of National Commodity Clearing Limited under the Securities Contracts (Regulation) framework, exercising powers under the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956 and Regulation 12 of the relevant 2018 Regulations; the renewal is granted for a fixed term and is expressly subject to compliance with conditions specified by SEBI and any additional conditions that may be prescribed or imposed thereafter.

Related party investment restrictions require client consent and mandate prudential limits, disclosures, rating criteria and monitoring.
Amendments define related party for portfolio managers and require prior client consent for investments in securities of related parties or associates, subject to Board exceptions. Portfolio managers must disclose related party investments and their diversification policy. Board specified prudential limits apply at the client level; investments in unrated securities of related parties are prohibited and investments must meet Board specified credit rating criteria. An alert based monitoring system is mandated to ensure compliance, with transitional and Board specified exemptions.

Limited purpose clearing corporation board composition requires nominee, independent and managing directors and a mandated dispute resolution mechanism.
The regulations prescribe that the governing board of a recognized limited purpose clearing corporation must include nominee directors, independent directors and a managing director, treat nominee directors as shareholder directors and independent directors as public interest directors, exclude the managing director from shareholder directors, permit a rotational issuer representative as a nominee director, require a dispute resolution mechanism for cleared transactions, mandate compliance reconciliation with central bank directions after consultation, and require Board approval sequencing and timely managing director appointment and reporting.