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.

Before framing regulations to curb 'misleading' messages and stock recommendations by finfluencers (a portmanteau of the phrase 'financial influencers'), the market regulator plans to put in place some 'building blocks' to ensure smooth enforcement. Madhabi Puri Buch, chairperson of Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), is of the view that the 'traditional approach may not work' to rein in finfluencers. "There are many interlinked pieces in our regulations - investment advisor regulations, research analyst regulations, the fact that we don't have algorithmic (algo)-related regulations, what brokers are permitted to do, and what is incidental advice.

The Indian equity market clocked record average daily turnover (ADTV) in both the cash and derivatives segments in February amid a spike in volatility. The ADTV for the cash segment for both the exchanges combined came at Rs 1.27 trillion, while the same for the derivatives or the futures and options (F&O) segment stood at Rs 483 trillion in the previous month. The volumes for both cash and derivatives have almost doubled from a year ago on the back of rising retail participation in the world's fourth largest equity market.

Madhabi Puri Buch, the first female chairperson of Sebi, doesn't plan to rest on her laurels in her third and final year in office and has set out an ambitious goal, such as moving towards a same-day and instantaneous settlement cycle for the secondary market.

The mystery surrounding the alleged fund diversion from Zee Entertainment Enterprises (Zee) by founders Subhash Chandra and Punit Goenka has thickened with speculations of an amount multiple times higher than that cited by the ex-parte interim order passed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) dated June 12, 2023. While Zee shares witnessed a fresh selloff on Wednesday, news reports of accounting fraud left investors guessing about the hole in the media broadcaster's books. An order by the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) in October 2023 had clearly hinted that Sebi's investigation had found a deeper rout.

Rising outgo towards clearing and settlement fees has led to an altercation between the BSE and the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE), with the latter striking down the former's request to lower the charges. NSE said it has no plans to restructure the same and that it will continue with the pricing defined under the interoperability framework. The interoperability framework, introduced in 2019, allows trades executed on any of the exchanges to be settled or cleared at either of the two clearing corporations -- NSE Clearing (NCL) or Indian Clearing Corporation (ICCL), fully-owned by the NSE and the BSE, respectively.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is considering segregation of settlement for proprietary trades and retail trades to avoid misuse and circumvention by certain brokers, its chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch said recently. Proprietary trading refers to trades done by brokers and other financial institutions using their own capital. "There are some people who are permitting access to their clients through prop accounts for a variety of reasons, including wanting to fund their margins.

Only a fifth of foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) in breach of the market regulator-specified thresholds may need to provide enhanced disclosure on ultimate beneficiaries, thanks to exemptions being provided, according to people in the know. The ultimate beneficial ownership (UBO) disclosures, for FPIs with over 50 per cent holding in a single corporate group or over Rs 25,000 crore exposure to Indian assets, will be required from February 1. But, depending on their category, FPIs will have 10-30 working days to submit these granular details.

With the government clearing the decks for direct listing at the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) International Financial Services Centre (IFSC), issuers will wait for the ecosystem to develop further before firming up their listing plans. In the meantime, most companies may continue to prefer listing in the onshore market, even as the new avenue provides key benefits such as tax waivers and reduced foreign exchange risk. Sources said that a few key things need to be ironed out further.

Alternative investment funds (AIFs) have not seen any significant redemptions from financial institutions even though the 30-day timeline provided by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to liquidate their holdings or make full provisions ends recently. Sources said the industry is awaiting certain relaxations or extensions based on the recommendations submitted to the banking regulator. On December 19, the RBI restricted financial institutions and banks from investing in AIFs where there is any downstream link or exposure to a debtor firm.

Investors may have to wait a little longer for Unified Payments Interface (UPI)-based block mechanism in the secondary market even as the market regulator has set the effective launch date as January 1, 2024. Several brokerage firms said they may take a few months more to implement it. Investors will be able to register for this facility only if the stock broker has opted for the UPI block facility.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is contemplating the implementation of a same-day settlement cycle, known as T+0, in two phases. This is seen as a preliminary step towards instantaneous settlement. The shorter T+0 settlement cycle is being considered for the equity cash segment as an optional mechanism, in addition to the current T+1 (Trade plus one day) cycle.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) might relax the disclosure norms around rumour verification to help smooth implementation and ease compliance amid pushback from India Inc, said people in the know. The rule has been notified following amendments to the Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements (LODR) by Sebi. However, its implementation has been deferred until February.

Social stock exchange (SSE) saw its first listing on Wednesday, with SGBS Unnati Foundation becoming the first entity to take this route to avail financing. The foundation - engaged in vocational training of youth - raised Rs 1.8 crore from four investors. These include brokerage firm Zerodha and National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard).

The market capitalisation of Adani Group companies rose by nearly Rs 73,000 crore on Monday as investors lapped up shares of the power-to-port conglomerate after BJP's electoral wins in three states, spurring hopes of regime continuity at the Centre. The Gautam Adani group's market map once again neared the Rs 12-trillion mark, following sharp gains made over the past week. "Two big overhangs for the Adani Group have receded somewhat following the state election results, there is more certainty that the BJP will win a third time next year.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) may allow non-resident Indians (NRIs) and Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs) greater exposure to domestic equities if their investments are sent through foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) registered at the GIFT City International Financial Services Centre (IFSC). The proposal will be taken during Sebi's board meeting on Saturday along with other key agenda items such as easing of voluntary delisting mechanism and introduction of a regulatory framework for real estate fractional ownership platforms, said people in the know. At present, the combined holdings of NRIs and OCIs in a global fund have to be less than 50 per cent, while that of a single NRI or OCI is capped at 25 per cent.

The contribution from asset management companies (AMCs) has surpassed the Rs 3,000 crore target for the creation of a Rs 33,000 crore backstop facility for debt mutual funds (MFs). The initial corpus for the Corporate Debt Market Development Fund (CDMDF) is nearly Rs 3,100 crore, according to multiple government officials and AMC executives. "The fund is operational now. "The required corpus has been raised by AMCs and the remaining part (Rs 30,000 crore) is in the form of a guarantee from the government which will be activated only in case of a credit event," explained D P Singh, joint CEO and deputy MD, SBI MF.

Alternative investment funds (AIFs) are yet to fully demat the outstanding units even as the deadline ended on October 31. Industry players say they are working on the transition from physical to electronic with the depositories Central Depository Services (India) Limited (CDSL) and National Securities Depository Limited (NDSL). Some said they are hoping for some relaxation from the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), given the teething problems they are facing.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Wednesday barred financial influencer Mohammad Nasiruddin Ansari, operating with the handle 'Baap of Chart' and known as Md Nasir on social media, from accessing the securities market. Further, the market regulator has asked him to disgorge Rs 17.2 crore for indulging in unregistered investment advisory. 'Baap of Chart' has over 443,000 subscribers on YouTube and 83,000 followers on X (formerly Twitter) and has provided trading recommendations and courses.