Withdrawal of recognition: stock exchange permitted to exit and recognition to be withdrawn upon gazette notification.
SEBI permitted the Indian Commodity Exchange Limited to exit as a stock exchange and issued directions for the consequent withdrawal of recognition under the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, the withdrawal to take effect from the date of publication of the Notification in the Official Gazette; this follows earlier proceedings including a prior withdrawal order set aside by the appellate tribunal and the exchange's request for relaxation or voluntary surrender.

Specialized Investment Fund rules permit mutual funds to launch dedicated strategies with investor eligibility, limits and disclosures.
The amendments create a Specialized Investment Fund framework permitting registered mutual funds to establish SIFs with multiple investment strategies, set investor eligibility (including a minimum investment threshold with an accredited investor exemption), prescribe manager certification, apply mutual fund scheme provisions unless otherwise specified, and impose issuer, NAV and group exposure limits. Separately, a Mutual Fund Lite regime is established for passive schemes with tailored eligibility, trustee independence, networth and governance requirements, concentration and related-party transaction limits, disclosure and valuation obligations, and specified operational and reporting duties for AMCs and trustees.

Research analyst regulation updates: new part-time category, qualification and certification mandates, AI disclosure and client segregation rules.
Regulations expand definitions and create a part-time research analyst category, require specified academic/professional qualifications and ongoing NISM certification for individuals and principal officers, impose a deposit maintained under lien, mandate compliance officers for non-individuals, require client-level segregation between research and distribution at group and family levels, require disclosure and client-data responsibilities where Artificial Intelligence tools are used, and add recordkeeping, website and corroboration obligations for research recommendations.

Part-time investment adviser framework: new client limits, segregation, deposit and certification obligations with AI disclosure requirements.
Regulations introduce a part-time investment adviser category with limits on clients and obligations to segregate advisory work from other employment, require graduate minimum qualifications and continuous NISM certification for persons providing investment advice, replace networth with a bank deposit maintained under lien for dispute liabilities, create Form C for part-time registration, expand recordkeeping and website requirements, mandate appointment of a compliance officer or qualified independent professional, and impose specific responsibilities and disclosure obligations for use of Artificial Intelligence in advisory services.

Corporate governance reforms strengthen disclosures, secretarial audit eligibility, compliance officer designation and promoter reclassification procedures.
Amendments revise definitions and strengthen corporate governance, disclosure and compliance requirements for listed entities: they add SR equity shares, expand "securities laws", mandate Peer Reviewed Secretarial Audits with term limits and signing requirements, require designated whole-time Compliance Officers as Key Managerial Personnel, impose timelines for filling vacancies and shareholder approval for board appointments, enhance digital disclosures (audio/video/transcripts of calls, XBRL filings, web-link annual reports), allow limited audit committee ratification of non-material related party transactions, and prescribe procedures and timelines for promoter reclassification including exceptions for insolvency resolution plans.

ESG Debt Securities framework expanded; issuance and listing now subject to Board-specified conditions and enhanced trustee disclosure.
The amendment establishes a defined ESG Debt Securities category and requires that issuers seeking to issue and list such securities comply with conditions to be specified by the Board. It omits regulation 26 and revises Schedule I to mandate disclosure of the debenture trustee's name, consent statement and the agreement executed with the issuer, made accessible via web-link or static QR code; a consenting letter may be disclosed for general information documents or shelf prospectuses, but key information documents and tranche prospectuses must include the agreement.

Summary proceedings allow expedited cancellation or suspension of intermediary registration with written-only response and no personal hearing.
Summary proceedings enable expedited cancellation or suspension of an intermediary's registration upon specified triggers; the competent authority issues a notice of grounds and alleged violations, requires written submissions with documentary evidence within a short timeframe (with a single discretionary extension), and grants no personal hearing. After considering materials and submissions, the authority will promptly pass an order to cancel, suspend or impose other conditions, including protective measures for investor records, redressal, transfer of client assets, continuity of service and liabilities. Orders are communicated to the noticee and relevant market infrastructure and uploaded publicly.

Insider trading scope expanded: relatives and associated persons now included as connected persons with access to UPSI.
The amendment broadens connected person to include anyone associated with a company in the six months prior whose relationships or position reasonably allow access to unpublished price sensitive information, expressly adds firms, partners, employees and household members, defines "relative" to include spouse, parents, siblings, children and their spouses, and clarifies that possession or access to UPSI makes one an "insider" while preserving specified exonerating circumstances and placing initial onus on the person alleging access.

Lead manager responsibilities clarified requiring defined allocation and disclosure of disclosure, allotment and refund duties in offer documents.
Amendments require merchant bankers to employ at least two professionally qualified persons, strengthen lead manager duties by mandating that responsibilities for disclosures, allotment and refund be clearly defined and disclosed in draft and final offer documents, prohibit merchant bankers who are promoters or associates from leading or being associated with an issuer's regulated activities subject to narrow exceptions, require underwriting subscriptions prior to finalisation of basis of allotment, and impose timelines for Board intimation of registration changes and transaction reporting of acquisitions.

Nomination rights require participants to offer vesting and incapacitation nomination options, with participant immunity.
Regulation 60A requires participants to provide beneficial owners the option to nominate a person to receive securities on the owner's death and to nominate a person authorized to transact on the owner's behalf if incapacitated; joint holders may jointly nominate a recipient, and depositories and participants are not liable for actions taken on the basis of a nomination.

Self-attestation replaces notarisation across SEBI regulations, removing sworn affidavit requirements and simplifying attestation processes for regulated entities.
Replaces notarisation and sworn affidavit requirements with self-attestation across multiple SEBI regulations by substituting phrases in specified forms and provisions, deleting references to duly sworn affidavits and notarisation, and inserting "self-attested" in application and stamp duty contexts to standardise and simplify document attestation mechanics.

Banker to an Issue registration expands to cover escrow services and separate IPO proceeds accounts.
The amendments add escrow services for issue management, buyback, delisting, and open offers; require opening a separate bank account for depositing proceeds of initial and further public offers; permit the Board to specify other activities; and mandate that no person shall act as a banker to an issue unless a certificate of registration has been obtained from the Board, with consequential renumbering of existing sub regulations.

Buy back disclosure obligations strengthened: mandatory disclosure of subsisting obligations and prescribed treatment for promoter non participation in offers.
Amendments require exclusion of shares held by any promoter/promoter group member who declares non participation when computing the entitlement ratio, change certain references from "record date" to "date of public announcement," and expand disclosure obligations to mandate publication of relevant details and the potential impact of any subsisting obligations (including conversions under warrants, stock options, sweat equity or conversion of preference shares or debentures). The Letter of Offer must state entitlement ratios for small and general shareholders and provide a registrar web link for entitlement verification.

Investor pro rata rights expanded, requiring pro rata investment and distribution rights with limited Board specified exceptions and pari passu default treatment.
Investors in a scheme of an Alternative Investment Fund shall have pro rata rights in each investment and in distribution of proceeds, subject to Board specified exceptions; pre existing non pro rata rights and prior issued differential rights not covered by exceptions will be dealt with as directed by the Board. Other investor rights are to be pari passu, though differential rights may be offered to select investors as specified by the Board, and the pari passu rule excludes Large Value Fund for Accredited Investors.

Voting thresholds revised for REIT unit holder decisions, and distribution payment timeline shortened to record-date based scheduling.
Amendments shorten distribution payment timing by requiring payment within five working days from the record date and define the record date as two working days after declaration; they also require vote calculations to be based on total votes cast and unit holders present and voting (including electronic and postal votes), mandate remote participation and electronic voting options for meetings, allow shorter notice with high consent, and impose electronic records backup, business continuity and disaster recovery obligations.

Voting threshold recalibration now counts unit holders present and voting, including electronic votes, altering approval mechanics.
The amendments standardize the trading lot for units, set minimum distribution frequencies (semi annual for publicly offered InvITs; annual for privately placed InvITs) with a defined record date and short payment timeline, revise voting thresholds to be calculated on the basis of unit holders present and voting (including electronic and postal votes), permit shorter meeting notice upon high consent, require remote audiovisual attendance and remote electronic voting for unit holder meetings, and impose strengthened electronic recordkeeping and business continuity obligations on investment managers and trustees.

Floor price requirement for delisting tightened; fixed price delisting added with valuation, escrow and acceptance thresholds.
Amendments create a separate fixed delisting price process alongside reverse book building, redefine floor price methodology (regulation 19A) prescribing multiple valuation metrics and an adjusted book value formula, and require an interest-bearing escrow with 25% initial deposit and 75% pre-announcement deposit of total consideration. Fixed price delisting requires the fixed price to be at least fifteen percent above the floor, applies only to frequently traded shares, and mandates acceptance if acquirer plus tenders reach ninety percent. Counter-offer and procedural timelines are clarified, and a special scheme-based delisting route for Investment Holding Companies is prescribed with valuation, disclosure, voting, compliance, and relisting conditions.

Listing procedure amendments shorten timelines and permit electronic publication with QR code-linked disclosures for public offers.
Amendments shorten prescribed timelines, require filing-stage posting of draft offer documents for issuers on nationwide exchanges, permit electronic advertisement of public issues with a newspaper notice exhibiting a QR Code and link, and relax certain response periods. Schedule I amendments permit QR code and web-link presentation for branch and aggregated vendor disclosures (with full details to be provided to the debenture trustee), expand use-of-proceeds and financial disclosure specificity, and replace director attestations with attestation by authorised persons appointed by board resolution, while affirming Board responsibility.

Renewal of recognition granted to stock exchange, subject to SEBI prescribed compliance obligations for a limited period.
Renewal of recognition is granted to the Metropolitan Stock Exchange of India Limited under Section 4 of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956 for a one-year period commencing mid-September 2024 and ending mid-September 2025, subject to the conditions stated in the notification and to any further conditions SEBI may prescribe or impose; the Exchange must comply with conditions as may be prescribed by SEBI from time to time.

FVCI registration reform: new eligibility, certification, compliance and renewal rules govern foreign venture capital investments.
Registration to act as a foreign venture capital investor is required and must be obtained via a designated depository participant on behalf of the Board; applications must follow the specified form, documentation and fee requirements. Eligibility links residency, regulatory cooperation through IOSCO multilateral or bilateral MoUs, AML/FATF and sanctions exclusions, and fit and proper criteria. Certificates carry conditions including appointment of a domestic custodian and banking arrangements; renewals occur in multi year blocks with prescribed fees and restrictions on investment until fees are regularised. Designated depository participants and custodians have ongoing monitoring, KYC, reporting and recordkeeping duties.