The regulator is working towards easing operational norms across industry participants
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FRANCIS MASCARENHAS

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has started talking to market intermediaries, industry participants and various stakeholders to understand their pain points as part of its push toward ease of doing business and rationalisation of regulations.

The capital markets regulator has been reaching out to various industry forums, groups and representatives to find out the ongoing processes, the challenges, as well as provide suggestions on areas that can be rationalised according to sources.

“We are talking to industry groups and representatives more. The process has started, but it’ll take time. You might start seeing changes or proposals only towards the end of the year,” a regulatory source said.

Reform drive

The regulator is working towards easing operational norms across industry participants, including stockbrokers, REITs, InvITs, merchant bankers, debenture trustees, trusteeships, research analysts, investment advisors, and mutual funds.

“There has been more communication from SEBI as well as stock exchanges about the problem areas that can be deregulated. They have asked for a lot of details on how we function within regulations and what the pain points are in the regulatory process,” said a broking industry source.

Discussions are ongoing with qualified institutional brokers, forums such as Bombay Stock Exchange Brokers (BBF), Association of National Exchange Members of India (ANMI) over the past couple of weeks, to ease procedural and operational issues with weekly ledgers, upstreaming of funds, research dissemination among others, the source said.

Procedural Relief

For REITs and InvITs, SEBI is working on realigning these units with equities and relaxing compliance timelines. Similarly, concerns flagged by merchant bankers, debenture trustees, and other intermediaries are being reviewed with an eye toward procedural flexibility, regulatory sources said.

Research analysts and investment advisors are struggling with SEBI’s advertisement code, excessive documentation and strict compliances, which is being looked at. There is also a parallel effort underway to harmonise FPI processes with global best practices, potentially making it easier for foreign investors to route more funds into Indian markets.

“SEBI has started the move towards reducing and slowing down regulations by gathering feedback. Some of the circulars have been put on hold in the past couple of months as SEBI doesn’t want to clutter the market with more regulations,” said another source aware of the development.

Since Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey took the reins of SEBI two months ago, the focus has visibly shifted towards promoting ease of doing business. Pandey had earlier indicated that the regulator will relook redundant and outdated regulations, which are not serving any purpose. These would be small and cumulative reforms and not big-bang reforms.

Published on May 2, 2025