SEBI Launches 'Demat 2.0' Pilot For Tokenised Corporate Bonds

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has announced the successful launch of the “Demat 2.0” pilot for tokenised corporate bonds, which uses Distributed Ledger Technology for their issuance, holding, trading and settlement.Under the pilot, corporate bonds are issued as digital tokens on a shared ledger maintained by the market infrastructure institutions. The system is linked to the Reserve Bank of India's wholesale Central Bank Digital Currency e₹ through the Unified Market...

Adani Ports CEO Karan Adani Pays ₹13.65 Lakh To Settle SEBI Proceedings Over PMC Transactions

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited (APSEZ) Chief Executive Officer Karan Adani has paid ₹13.65 lakh to settle adjudication proceedings arising from alleged regulatory violations concerning transactions involving PMC Projects (India) Private Limited (PMC).APSEZ Chief Financial Officer B Ravi also paid ₹13.65 lakh to settle the proceedings. SEBI's Adjudicating Officer Jai Sebastian disposed of the matter after the regulator received the settlement amounts.SEBI's investigation concerned...

SEBI Proposes Changes To MII Board Director Criteria And KMP Appointment Process

On 9 September, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) issued a consultation paper proposing measures to strengthen the governance of Market Infrastructure Institutions (MIIs), including revised criteria for appointment of directors to MII Governing Boards and a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for appointment of certain key managerial personnel. SEBI said MIIs were facing difficulties in finding suitable directors, particularly Public Interest Directors, due to restrictive...

SEBI Revises Client Position Limits And Penalty Norms For Commodity Derivatives

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 9 September introduced revised norms governing client position limits and penalties for breaches in the commodity derivatives segment. SEBI said the revisions followed stakeholder representations, recommendations of the Working Group reviewing regulatory norms for the Agri Commodity Derivatives Segment, and inputs from the Commodity Derivatives Advisory Committee. Under the revised framework, penalties for client-level open-interest...

SEBI, ESMA Sign Fresh MoU On Cooperation And Information Exchange Concerning CCPs

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at strengthening cooperation and facilitating exchange of information sharing concerning Central Counterparties (CCPs) regulated by SEBI.The MoU replaces an earlier understanding between the two regulators executed on June 21, 2017.Under the new arrangement, SEBI and ESMA will cooperate on matters concerning CCPs in line with their...

SEBI Penalises 3 Directors Of Citrus Check Inns For Continued Investor Collections After Regulatory Ban

On 31 August, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) imposed a Rs. 25 lakh penalty jointly and severally on three directors of Citrus Check Inns Limited for violating SEBI's directions issued in 2015. Adjudicating Officer Medha Sonparote passed the order against Omprakash Basantlal Goenka, Prakash Ganpat Utekar and Venkatraman Natarajan. She held: “It is not the case of the Noticees that they did not get enough time to comply with the SEBI Orders. The first Order of SEBI was in June...

SEBI Bars Trafiksol ITS Technologies From Securities Market For 1 Year Over Misleading IPO Disclosures

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 28 August restrained Trafiksol ITS Technologies Limited (TITL) and its promoters Jitendra Narayan Das and Poonam Das from accessing the securities market for one year over misleading disclosures in the company's Initial Public Offering (IPO) prospectus. SEBI Whole Time Member Amarjeet Singh also imposed a penalty of Rs. 30 lakh on TITL, Rs. 50 lakh on Jitendra Das and Rs. 25 lakh on Poonam Das. He held: “…..the conduct was not a mere...

SEBI Proposes Relaxation Of Merchant Banker Requirement For Small Value Debt Private Placements

On 27 August, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) proposed exempting listed issuers regulated by a financial sector regulator from appointing a merchant banker for private placement of small-value debt securities, subject to specified conditions. SEBI said the proposal seeks to address operational difficulties and reduce costs associated with small-value debt issuances, which it said could help develop the market and encourage more frequent issuances. At present, Clause 1.3 of...

SEBI Signs MoU With RRU, NISM For Cybersecurity Training And Securities Market Innovation

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 24 August signed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Rashtriya Raksha University (RRU) and National Institute of Securities Markets (NISM) to collaborate on capacity building, research, education, training, policy support, institutional cooperation and knowledge exchange. Under the MoU, the three institutions will jointly conduct training programmes, workshops, certification courses, executive education programmes and...

SEBI Mandates IT Resilience Index And Early Warning System For Market Infrastructure Institutions

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 24 August introduced an IT Resilience Index (ITRI) framework for Market Infrastructure Institutions (MIIs) to assess the robustness and resilience of their IT systems. The ITRI will measure the robustness of critical systems of MIIs and related systems across nine parameters, including availability, security, integrity, governance, reliability and monitoring, business continuity, modularity and flexibility, scalability, and incident handling....

SEBI Aligns Cyber Incident Reporting Portal With FSB's FIRE Framework

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 24 August aligned its Cyber Incident Reporting Portal with the Format for Incident Reporting Exchange (FIRE) framework developed by the Financial Stability Board (FSB) to standardise and streamline cyber incident reporting. SEBI said cyber incidents in the securities market are becoming more frequent and sophisticated, making timely reporting essential to contain attacks, undertake mitigation measures and strengthen cyber defences. Under the...

SEBI Proposes Fixed Income Channel Partners To Expand Bond Access In Smaller Cities

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 21 August proposed a framework to introduce Fixed Income Channel Partners (FICPs) to facilitate the distribution of fixed income securities through Online Bond Platform Providers (OBPPs), with the aim of expanding access to such investments in Tier II, Tier III and rural areas. Under the proposed framework, an FICP may be an individual or entity enlisted with a stock exchange and appointed by an OBPP to distribute fixed income securities and...