The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is likely to issue by the end of this month a no-objection certificate (NoC) for the National Stock Exchange’s (NSE) proposed public issue, bringing the much-anticipated IPO closer to reality. “We have to provide them with NoC and then NSE will have to follow on with other processes of filing, including DRHP, etc. Possibly, it (NoC) will be issued by this month,” Sebi Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey said on Saturday.
T+0 Settlement on the Backburner
Addressing the media in Chennai, Pandey said the capital market regulator is not actively pursuing the implementation of T+0 rolling settlement in the equity cash market, citing several challenges and limited adoption. “We are not really following up to on T+0 as there are a lot of challenges. We have made it optional and not many people are taking it either way,” Pandey said.
T+0 settlement refers to a mechanism where trades are settled on the same day they are executed, aimed at faster liquidity for investors.
In November last year, Sebi extended the deadline for qualified stock brokers (QSBs) to implement systems and processes required for the optional T+0 rolling settlement in the equity cash market. The deadline had earlier been extended till November 1, 2025, from the original timeline of May 1, 2025.
“I don’t know whether the option will work also because it will create big confusion,” Pandey said. “At this moment, we don’t see a great deal of benefit coming to T+0, possibly not worth the disruption otherwise it is going to cause,” he added.
Simplified KYC for Retail and NRIs
Earlier in the day, addressing a convention of the Association of National Exchanges Members of India (ANMI), Pandey said Sebi will soon introduce a simplified KYC framework with minimal paperwork for retail investors and non-resident Indians (NRIs) to attract more first-time investors into the capital market.
“Our survey shows that a simple onboarding experience motivates first-time participation. We are working on simplifying investor onboarding to simplify KYC for retail investors. We are looking to further reduce repeat documentation and streamlining e-KYC so KRAs retain only updated records,” he added. The Sebi chief also said the regulator will hold stakeholder consultations on a secure end-to-end KYC framework for NRIs without their “need to come to India”.
Pandey said India’s capital markets have expanded rapidly across equities, derivatives, mutual funds, AIFs, REITs, InvITs and corporate bonds. The number of unique investors has risen from 4.3 crore in FY20 to 13.7 crore currently. In the first nine months of the current financial year, the markets have seen Rs 1.7 lakh crore raised through 311 IPOs, with total equity mobilisation already crossing Rs 3.8 lakh crore. “This scale of participation raises our shared responsibility,” he said.
On regulating finfluencers, Pandey said Sebi is examining ways to monitor social media content and videos to determine where they cross the line from education to stock advice. He said the Sebi Sudarshan system is being used to detect fraudsters on social media posing as registered advisers to mislead investors. “We are developing an AI tool to analyse cyber audit reports and identify gaps before they become breaches,” he said.