Markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi's) measures to curb speculative activity in the Rs 450-trillion-a-day futures and options (F&O) market is not a case of "throwing the baby out with the bathwater," whole-time member (WTM) Ananth Narayan said on Friday. "As a regulator, we are conscious that we must not throw the baby out with the bathwater. "When it comes to frenzied trading in options nearing expiry, however, it is difficult to see any baby in this bathwater," he said while delivering his address at the 21st FICCI Annual Capital Markets Conference.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Monday proposed expanding the scope of regulations prohibiting insider trading to a wider group of people, including those connected to the officials in access to price-sensitive information. The market regulator has suggested changes in the definition of "connected persons" and "relative" to address any gaps in the norms and possible violations.

Brokers believe that the higher charges may not completely deter investors from taking bets in F&O but could help cool down some activity, as the threshold to break even rises.

Sebi's mandate restraining mutual funds, stock brokers, and other intermediaries from associating with finfluencers who do not come under the Sebi ambit will impact the earnings of finfluencers through sponsorships, tie-ups, or referral links, as these may dry up due to the restrictions.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has proposed stricter eligibility criteria for adding and retaining stocks in the futures and options (F&O) segment, which accounts for the bulk of the trading volumes. The proposal-which comes six years after the securities regulator last revised the stock selection framework---is much awaited by the market players as the derivatives stock list has largely remained stagnant for the last two years.

The market regulator's newly proposed selection criteria for the over Rs 400-trillion-a-day futures and options (F&O) market could pave the way for the entry of popular stocks such as Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India, Jio Financial Services, Zomato, Paytm, DMart, and Adani Energy into the derivatives segment. The Indian derivatives market, which accounts for most of the trading volumes, could see big churn with over two dozen exits from the current list of 182 stocks due to an upward revision in the eligibility thresholds.

In a bid to expedite the processing of initial public offerings (IPOs), the markets regulator will now seek additional information from lead managers (LMs) when they file draft documents. Last week, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) sent a letter to bankers, listing over two dozens of new disclosure requirements. The average time Sebi takes to clear the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) - a document companies must file before accessing public funds - has dropped to less than three months in 2024 (until May 31).

Certain foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), which operate as pooled investment vehicles (PIVs), may not be exempt from the additional disclosure mandates by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) following an update in the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for custodians. An updated version of the SOPs has specified several conditions to be met for PIVs to benefit from the exemptions granted. These include no segregated portfolios, independent investment manager, and investors having pari-passu (equal) rights in the entity.

The directions follow a report by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, which has seen a new pattern of transnational cyber-enabled financial fraud and investment scam, impersonating as stockbrokers and company executives.

Domestic bourse BSE has approved the acquisition of a 50 per cent stake in index provider Asia Index (AIPL) from equal joint venture partner S&P Dow Jones (SPDJ) Indices for Rs 30 crore. AIPL, the index provider, is responsible for compiling and maintaining the widely followed Sensex, Bankex, and other indices. Passive funds with assets of nearly Rs 2 trillion are benchmarked with indices provided by AIPL.

In a step towards investor awareness, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has directed companies planning to launch initial public offers (IPOs) to release a 10-minute video containing key information related to the issue. The initiative is to make it easier for investors to understand the features of the public issue and the company.

'MIIs or market intermediaries shall enter into an appropriate agreement with entities with whom they intend to share real-time price data.'

The stock exchange BSE has called off the merger of its unit at the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City International Financial Services Centre (GIFT IFSC), India International Exchange (India INX), with NSE International Exchange (NSE IX), a similar unit floated by rival National Stock Exchange (NSE), according to sources familiar with the development. BSE and NSE had been in discussions for the merger for over a year, but it has yielded no results, they said.

In a bid to ease compliance towards companies planning public offers (IPOs), the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has notified norms that open more avenues to meet the minimum promoters' contribution (MPC). The market regulator has permitted promoter group entities and non-individual shareholders to contribute to the mandated promoters' contribution in the case of a shortfall without being identified as a promoter.

The change will help companies address market rumours without being worried about the impact on deal pricing.

'When there are no good roads and no buses plying to villages, your spending on development is skewed.'

Following the end of the grandfathering period given to India Inc to replace their independent directors who had already served for 10 years, certain companies have come up with unique ways to replace the old guard.

The BSE faces a larger outgo after regulatory clarity on the fee to be paid to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) as a turnover charge on options volume. The market regulator on Friday directed the exchange to pay a regulatory fee on the 'notional value' of annual turnover.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) from Mauritius may face higher scrutiny after the amendment in the India-Mauritius tax treaty introduced a principle purpose test (PPT) to prevent treaty abuse by taxpayers. The Mauritius government had in February decided to amend the double taxation avoidance agreement (DTAA) with India to align with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's proposal on base erosion and profit shifting. Although the agreement between India and Mauritius was signed on March 7, the protocol of the amendment was made public for the first time on Wednesday, said legal experts.

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) on Tuesday said it has halved the lot size for trading derivatives contracts for the Nifty 50 index to 25 and also reduced the lot sizes of the Nifty Financial Services and Nifty Midcap indices as part of its periodic revision. "All contracts, i.e. weekly, monthly, quarterly, and half-yearly expires available for trading from the trade date of April 26, 2024, onwards will be with the revised market lot size," the NSE said, referring to applicability of the change for Nifty 50. The lot size in the derivatives segment refers to the fixed number of shares in a unit or group for which contracts are traded.