The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) will bring down the time taken to register foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) from ‘three months, if not more, to a matter of a few days’, said Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey on Thursday. 

“We will make processes easier for them. In a matter of a few months, we will make registrations as good as anywhere in the world,” Pandey told FE.

Digitisation

To achieve this goal, the registration process will be fully digitised soon and may be made mandatory for only new registrations to cut down the time taken for such processes.

Currently, the FPI registration process is said to take 30 days, but in reality, it could be as long as 3 months after factoring in all the back-and-forth between FPI and custodians.

“I think we have to really go in for a system where the people can actually do a portal-based filling of form that can be processed online and integrate it with a backend so that the registration can be as smooth,” he said, adding that many domestic systems in India like GSTN (Goods and Services Tax Network) are far more advanced than the FPI registration system.

Sebi is also considering making the digital registration process, which is currently voluntary, compulsory for foreign investors. “So, with newer registration, we can always make digitisation compulsory. Then, we will have much more control over time,” he said.

He outlined several steps the market regulator is taking in coordination with the Reserve Bank of India to make FPI entry into India as smooth as possible.

Reforms to Counter FPI Outflow

In the Sebi’s board meeting in September, it was decided to launch the India Market Access platform for a one-stop regulatory hub and introduce SWAGAT-FI (Single Window Automatic & Generalised Access for Trusted Foreign Investors). Other measures to improve ease of doing business for FPIs included allowing accredited investor-only plans with lower compliance and permitting Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) in the IFSC with a resident Indian sponsor to register as FPIs.

Commenting on the negative FPI mood in recent months that have seen them turn net sellers, Pandey emphasised that they continue to remain deeply committed to India’s growth story, with overall exposure hovering around $800 billion in market capitalisation. In 2024 and 2025 till date, foreign investors have withdrawn almost $18 billion in total (Rs 1.5 lakh crore). 

He believes that they are not in an “exit mode”, but there has been strategic reallocation rather than retreat from India due to various factors including, higher valuations, US tariffs affecting certain sectors like IT and Federal Reserve’s interest rate changes. 

“Indian valuations are slightly on the higher side, but that is because India gets the premium valuation because of its underlying growth rate of the economy, and the way people perceive the short-term and medium-term prospects of the Indian economy,” he explained. 

Sebi is responding to these challenges with bold reforms to enhance India’s appeal for FPIs. Sebi’s FPI outreach cell has also engaged 2,000 of 12,000 FPIs via webinars and dedicated email support, among other measures.