SEBI

August 2026

• 27Aug

  SEBI proposes to exempt certain listed issuers from appointing a merchant banker for privately placed debt of ₹10,000 face value; comment window closed on 17 September 2026

  No merchant banker: draftComments invited

  A SEBI consultation paper issued on 27 August 2026 proposes that an issuer of privately placed debt with a face value of ₹10,000 may be exempted from appointing a merchant banker if four conditions are met: it is regulated by a financial sector regulator, listed for at least one year, has no default in the last three financial years and the current year, and the debt is senior, secured and rated at least AA-. Comments were due by 17 September 2026; the window has closed.

• 24Aug

  SEBI aligns its Cyber Incident Reporting Portal with the FIRE format: portal to take incident reports in stages, from first report to closure

  Cyber reports in FIRE formatAction needed

  SEBI has aligned its Incident Reporting Portal with the Format for Incident Reporting Exchange (FIRE) developed by the Financial Stability Board. Regulated entities report cyber incidents through the Cyber Incident Reporting Portal at siportal.sebi.gov.in, which will facilitate reporting in stages from initial report to final closure. The existing timelines — email within 6 hours and portal within 24 hours — are restated.

• 21Aug

  SEBI proposes Fixed Income Channel Partners to distribute bonds through online bond platforms; charges to clients capped at 2.5%. Comment window closed on 11 September 2026

  Bond distributors (FICP): draftComments invited

  A SEBI consultation paper issued on 21 August 2026 proposes a new class of Fixed Income Channel Partners (FICPs), enlisted with stock exchanges and appointed by Online Bond Platform Providers, to distribute fixed income securities on the lines of mutual fund distributors. FICPs could not handle client funds or charge clients, and AT1-type unsecured perpetual bonds would be out of bounds. Comments were due by 11 September 2026; the window has closed.

• 20Aug

  87.7% of individual traders in equity derivatives lost money in FY26; net losses about ₹91,685 crore: SEBI studies

  87.7% of F&O traders lost money

  Two SEBI studies on individual traders in the equity derivatives segment show active traders fell about 20% to 78.6 lakh in FY26, while 87.7% of them still incurred losses. Aggregate net losses were about ₹91,685 crore and the average loss per trader about ₹1.17 lakh. Around 92% of the losses arose from options trading.

• 20Aug

  KYC Registration Agencies may share information with IFSCA-regulated entities: SEBI specifies IFSCA under regulation 16A of the KRA Regulations

  KRA access for IFSCA entitiesNew facility

  SEBI has specified the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) under regulation 16A(1) of the KRA Regulations, 2011. Entities regulated by IFSCA may now access the systems of SEBI-registered KYC Registration Agencies to do KYC of their clients. They must follow the KRA Regulations, SEBI’s KYC Master Circular and, for FPI clients, the data security guidelines in the FPI Master Circular.

• 17Aug

  SEBI cautions investors against “live trading strategies” on social media; live market data cannot be shared, educators must use prices with a 30-day lag

  Live trading tips: SEBI caution

  SEBI has cautioned investors about persons offering “live trading strategies / real-time strategies” on social media platforms. It has advised investors not to trust such claims, not to base investment decisions on live trading sessions and to deal only with SEBI registered intermediaries. Live market data may not be shared except for orderly market functioning or regulatory requirements.

• 14Aug

  SEBI proposes fully digital KYC for NRIs, OCIs and foreign nationals located outside India in FATF-compliant countries; comment window closed on 4 September 2026

  Digital KYC from abroad: draftComments invited

  A SEBI consultation paper issued on 14 August 2026 proposes to let intermediaries on-board individual persons resident outside India digitally without insisting on physical presence in India, if the client is located in a FATF-compliant country. KYC records of such clients would be treated as portable, and video in-person verification would be subject to concurrent audit. Comments were due by 4 September 2026; the window has closed.

• 14Aug

  InvITs: SEBI allows add-back of debt-funded major maintenance expense of road projects in Net Distributable Cash Flows, with unitholder approval

  Major maintenance add-backRule change

  SEBI has changed the framework for computing Net Distributable Cash Flows of InvITs. Payments towards major maintenance expense of road projects, to the extent funded by external borrowing, can be added back at the HoldCo/SPV level and at the Trust level. The add-back needs unitholder approval with at least 60% of votes cast, a statutory auditor’s certificate and specified disclosures.

• 14Aug

  Online Bond Platform Providers may now offer 54EC / section 85 capital-gains bonds and IFSCA-regulated products; compliance officer rule changed

  54EC bonds on bond platformsRelief

  SEBI has widened what Online Bond Platform Providers can offer. From 14 August 2026 they may offer bonds issued under section 54EC of the Income Tax Act, 1961 or section 85 of the Income-tax Act, 2025, and products regulated by IFSCA, each with labelling and disclaimer conditions. The compliance officer is now to be appointed as per the Stock Brokers Regulations, 2026 in place of a Company Secretary.

• 13Aug

  Anchor investors sold only 3.2% of their allotment right after the 30-day lock-in and about half within a year: SEBI study of 242 mainboard IPOs

  242 IPOs: 3.2% exit at T+30

  A study by officers of SEBI’s Department of Economic and Policy Analysis covers anchor investor exits in 242 mainboard IPOs listed between April 2022 and October 2025. On a weighted basis anchors sold 3.2% immediately after the first unlock, around 8% by day 60 and about 17.3% past the 90-day unlock. Exits were much higher in issues up to ₹250 crore, and FPIs sold more than mutual funds.

• 13Aug

  SEBI proposes a mandatory colour-coded Credit Risk-o-Meter for debt securities in offer documents, advertisements and bond platforms; comment window closed on 3 September 2026

  Credit Risk-o-Meter: draftComments invited

  A SEBI consultation paper issued on 13 August 2026 proposes that issuers and Online Bond Platform Providers must display a “Credit Risk-o-Meter” — a six-level colour-coded scale mapped to credit ratings from AAA to D — in offer documents, abridged prospectuses, private placement memoranda, advertisements and OBPP web and mobile platforms. Comments were due by 3 September 2026; the window has closed.

• 11Aug

  Municipal bonds: SEBI sets face value at ₹1 lakh or ₹10,000 for private placements, adds a two-step escrow for pooled finance vehicles and gives more time for financial results

  Face value ₹1 lakh or ₹10,000Relief

  Following the July 2026 amendment to the municipal debt securities regulations, SEBI has specified operational norms by a circular of 11 August 2026. Privately placed municipal debt securities are to have a face value of ₹1 lakh or ₹10,000; pooled finance vehicles get a two-step escrow mechanism and a list of credit enhancement options; municipalities get 60 days for half-yearly and 90 days for annual results.

• 7Aug

  SEBI to carry out about one-third as many inspections of brokers, DPs, IAs and RAs in FY 2026-27; repetitive annual inspections of compliant entities discontinued

  Inspections cut to one-thirdNew facility

  SEBI has adopted an enhanced approach to inspecting market intermediaries from FY 2026-27. Its targeted number of inspections of stock brokers, DPs, IAs and RAs is rationalised to approximately one-third of the previous year. Repetitive annual comprehensive inspections of compliant entities, especially QSBs, are being discontinued, and entities are shortlisted quarterly on risk parameters.