Regulatory Roundup

Capital Markets

Change: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has introduced real-time margin waiver for cash market trades after successful Early Pay-In of shares sold.

Impact: Investors can buy other stocks on the same day without having to arrange extra cash for margin, making it easier to reinvest.

Change: Sebi has proposed changes in SME initial public offering (IPO) rules, such as reducing the minimum investment from `2 lakh to `1 lakh, allowing trading in single shares, and tightening profit requirements of issuers.

Impact: A lower entry point could attract more retail investors into SME stocks. Single-share trading would remove odd-lot constraints, while stricter profit criteria aim to keep weaker issuers in check.

Change: Sebi has reversed its plan to link Future and Option (F&O) expiry settlement to the Closing Auction Session (CAS). The 30-minute volume-weighted average price (VWAP) method will return from December 7.

Impact: The reversal avoids a shift to CAS-based settlement for derivatives expiry and retains the existing VWAP method, which traders are familiar with.

Change: Sebi had notified the Portfolio Managers Regulations, 2026, and Common Advertisement Code, effective from April 1, 2027. The changes bring in the PRIM route for mutual fund portfolios.

Impact: Minimum investment for direct plans has been lowered to `25 lakh. The tighter advertising rules are also intended to tackle misleading claims and mis-selling.

Banking

Change: Effective October 1, 2026, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has mandated banks to offer uniform deposit rates on comparable bulk deposits booked on the same day.

Impact: This limits preferential pricing for bulk depositors without changing how banks set retail deposit rates.

Change: From October 1, 2026, RBI has implemented the Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Goods and Services) Regulations, 2026, revising rules for cross-border trade transactions and related compliance requirements.

Impact: Exporters and importers must review documentation, payment arrangements and reporting procedures to ensure compliance and avoid delays in international transactions.

Change: RBI has introduced a 20 per cent foreign exchange risk reserve (FERR) requirement for specific rupee-linked derivatives.

Impact: Covered financial institutions may face higher costs for maintaining derivatives positions, which may influence pricing and participation in currency markets.

Change: Effective October 16, 2026, RBI has increased the minimum daily cash reserve ratio (CRR) requirement for banks from 90 per cent to 99 per cent of the prescribed average balance.

Impact: Banks will have less funds available for lending and other operations, potentially influencing short-term credit availability

Pension

Change: PFRDA has revised the frequency for submitting exception and audit reports by Points of Presence (PoPs) under National Pension System (NPS), Atal Pension Yojana (APY) and NPS-Lite, based on subscriber base. Reports must be submitted through the centralised Tracking, Reporting, Analytics and Compliance (TRACE) portal.

Impact: It will streamline compliance requirements, facilitate timely reconciliation and strengthen regulatory monitoring of PoPs.

*List is not exhaustive | Compiled by Outlook Money Team