The Securities and Exchange Board of India, in a move to streamline the process of getting information, on Tuesday has made some changes in the format in which periodic information is filed by merchant bankers, bankers to issues, debenture trustees, registrars to issues and share transfer.

Now, the aforementioned entities need to file the information in electronic form and not in hard copy, as was the earlier practice. Market reforms have been the top priority on Sebi chief C B Bhave's agenda.

Sebi has been trying to make intermediaries and market participants more accountable by seeking information from them on a regular basis and by bringing in reforms in various processes.

Merchant bankers, debenture trustees, registrars/share transfer agents and bankers to the issue have been asked to submit their quarterly or half-yearly reports in revised format only. They have been asked to furnish these reports in a pdf as well as excel file. 

For example, the merchant bankers need to furnish the information in pdf/excel files containing the half-yearly report to email id mb@sebi.gov.in with the title "Half-yearly report submitted by aaa for the half-year ended xxx yyyy" where aaa represents the name of the merchant banker, xxx represents the month at the end of the half-year and yyyy represents the year.

Also, the attached pdf/excel file containing the half yearly report should bear the name of the merchant banker, the periodicity of the report as well as the month at the end of the half-year and the corresponding year.

For example, if a merchant banker ABC Limited submits the report for the half year ended September 2008, the report submitted to should bear the title "Half-yearly report submitted by ABC Limited for the half-year ended September 2008" and the attached pdf/excel file shall bear the name "ABC Limited half yearly September 2008". These reports need to be duly certified by the compliance officer.