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Sebi Board Meet Outcome: Mutual Fund, Stockbroker Rules Overhauled; Expense Ratios Revamped
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Sebi approves new mutual fund and stockbroker rules to clearly show all costs to investors, cut hidden charges, revise brokerage limits and modernise trading and compliance norms.
Sebi Board Meet Outcome December 2025.
Sebi Board Meet Outcome December 2025: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Wednesday approved a sweeping overhaul of regulations governing mutual funds and stockbrokers, clearing long-pending reforms aimed at improving cost transparency for investors, modernising market practices and simplifying compliance. The board approved the new Sebi (Mutual Funds) Regulations, 2026, replacing the nearly three-decade-old 1996 framework, and also cleared a comprehensive revamp of stockbroker regulations through the Sebi (Stock Brokers) Regulations, 2025.
Mutual Fund Regulations Revamped to Improve Cost Transparency
The markets regulator cleared a proposal to enhance mutual fund transparency by breaking down total expense ratio (TER), said a release. This is aimed at reducing investor confusion and ensuring greater transparency in costs.
A key change involves the exclusion of statutory levies, including securities transaction tax (STT), commodities transaction tax (CTT), GST, stamp duty, and Sebi and exchange fees, from the TER.
Under the new framework, statutory levies will be charged on actuals over and above the base expense ratio (BER), with TER now comprising the BER, brokerage and statutory or regulatory levies.
Sebi also removed the additional 5 basis points expense allowance linked to exit loads.
The regulator also reduced BER limits across several categories, including index funds and ETFs to 0.9% from 1.0%, liquid-scheme-based fund of funds to 0.9%, and close-ended equity schemes to 1% from 1.25%.
Brokerage Caps Revised
Sebi also reduced the cap on brokerage paid by mutual funds for equity cash transactions to 6 basis points, against the current mutual funds pay brokerage of up to 12 bps for equity transactions. It is, however, higher from the previously proposed 2 bps, after the industry feedback that a sharp cut might affect fund managers’ ability to execute trades effectively.
Brokerage rates for derivative mutual fund deals have also been revised to 2 basis points from 1 basis point, exclusive of statutory levies.
Performance-Linked Expenses Allowed
Sebi has allowed performance-linked expense structures for certain schemes, aligning mutual fund regulations more closely with alternative investment fund (AIF) frameworks, while maintaining safeguards to protect investors.
Mutual Fund Rules Shortened, Simplified
While announcing the decisions, Sebi Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey said the new regulations significantly reduce complexity and improve clarity. “There has also been a significant reduction in length of approximately 44%, from 162 pages to 88 pages. The word count has been reduced by about 54%, from nearly 67,000 words in the current regulations to around 31,000 words in the new regulations. Key highlights include improved clarity on statutory levies and expense ratio limits, which are now referred to as the Base Expense Ratio,” Pandey said.
Sebi had released a detailed consultation paper on October 28 proposing a revamp of the TER framework, citing concerns that the existing regime masked actual costs borne by investors and embedded statutory levies within fund expenses.
Stockbroker Regulations Modernised
The SEBI board also approved a comprehensive revamp of the stockbroker regulatory framework, replacing the SEBI (Stock Brokers) Regulations, 1992 with the SEBI (Stock Brokers) Regulations, 2025.
The new framework introduces a formal definition of algorithmic trading, clearer norms for proprietary trading, and a regulatory structure for execution-only platforms (EOPs) facilitating direct mutual fund transactions. Key definitions — including clearing member, professional clearing member, proprietary trading member, designated director and proprietary trading — have been updated to reflect current market practices.
The regulations consolidate provisions previously scattered across multiple circulars, remove obsolete requirements, and reorganise the framework into 11 chapters covering all aspects of stockbroker regulation.
Compliance Eased, Exchanges Made First-Line Regulators
Compliance requirements have been streamlined through measures such as joint inspections, electronic maintenance of books of accounts and rationalised reporting norms. Stock exchanges have been designated as first-line regulators for stockbrokers, with revised norms for reporting non-compliance and submission of financial statements.
The board also approved the rationalisation of criteria for identifying qualified stock brokers, with enhanced supervision focusing on brokers with larger client bases and higher trading volumes.
Debt Issuers To Offer Incentives In Public Issues To Certain Investors
It also allowed debt issuers to offer incentives in public issues to certain categories of investors.
Among other key proposals, the board cleared a recommendation regarding a framework to reduce the compliance burden of companies with large debts by raising the threshold for identifying High Value Debt Listed Entities (HVDLEs) to Rs 5,000 crore from the current Rs 1,000 crore.
Decision on Conflict-of-Interest Framework Deferred
The board reviewed proposals to overhaul norms governing mutual funds and stock brokers, but deferred a decision on a framework requiring senior Sebi officials to disclose their financial assets and liabilities to an independent officer.
IPO norms eased, disclosures made more investor-friendly
Sebi’s board also approved amendments to IPO regulations to address operational challenges around share lock-ins and improve the readability of offer documents. The regulator cleared a technology-enabled mechanism to appropriately mark pledged pre-issue shares as locked-in, easing compliance for issuers and intermediaries, and clarified that shares pledged by non-promoters of IPO-bound companies will be treated as non-transferable during the lock-in period.
To make IPO disclosures more investor-friendly, Sebi decided to replace the need for a separate summary document by requiring an abridged prospectus to be provided at the draft stage itself, along with the DRHP. The abridged prospectus, which is already mandated under the Companies Act, will contain key information and be made accessible through a QR code, allowing investors to quickly assess essential details without navigating lengthy draft offer documents.
This is the fourth board meeting chaired by Sebi chief Tuhin Kanta Pandey, who assumed office on March 1.
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Business
Panel questions IndiGo, DGCA babus, gets ‘unconvincing’ replies | India News – The Times of India
New Delhi: IndiGo was quizzed on Wednesday by a parliamentary committee over the misery inflicted on passengers by its mass-cancellation of flights, but it blamed a variety of factors, including system glitch and adverse weather conditions, while DGCA and the aviation ministry parried off criticism of their role in the fiasco.Some committee members termed replies of different stakeholders as “unconvincing” and aimed at washing their hands of the crisis, encapsulated by the response of a govt official that he first came to know of the unfolding ordeal through media reports.The panel, headed by JDU’s Sanjay Jha, decided to wait for the report of an inquiry ordered by DGCA before coming to a conclusion and make its recommendation. It will hold another meeting and is expected to call these stakeholders again. The DGCA-ordered committee was constituted on Dec 5 and was asked to submit its report in 15 days.Captain Sam Thomas, president of Bengaluru-based Airline Pilots Association of India, created flutter at the meeting by alleging corruption in DGCA and was asked by members to refrain from making sweeping allegations without producing evidence. He alleged that one can commit any wrong, but stay safe if he touched right feet.A committee member said IndiGo, which has offered apology for the ordeal, was far from apologetic in its response before the panel. It told the panel that several factors combined to derail its operation, including a glitch in system, which needed rebooting, and adverse weather that had their pilots stuck in different zones.IndiGo was represented by its COO Isidre Porqueras, while officials of Air India, Akasa Air, Spice Jet and Air India Express appeared before the panel as well. Civil aviation secretary Samir Kumar Sinha and top functionaries of other stakeholders were part of the deliberations.Replying to a query, IndiGo said all luggage, except 52 which remained unclaimed, have already been delivered.The panel’s meeting came against the backdrop of the suspicion, subject of investigation, that IndiGo remained resistant to the implementation of guidelines (Flight Duty Time Limitation) that allowed more rest for pilots in line with global norms aimed at ensuring flyers’ safety.It has been accused of engineering the disruption, leveraging its market dominance, to force the ministry to roll back the regulation as implementing it would have required the airline to hire more pilots. Faced with chaos caused triggered by disruption of IndiGo’s operations, DGCA had to relax the implementation of the guidelines.IndiGo management is reported to have denied allegation in meetings with ministry.
Business
Historic Green Milestone: Indian Railways Achieve 99.2% Electrification, Leaves UK, Russia And China Far Behind
New Delhi: Indian Railways has reached a milestone in its journey toward sustainable transportation, achieving electrification of 99.2 per cent of its broad gauge network. This puts India ahead of major rail economies such as the United Kingdom, which stands at 39%, Russia at 52% and China at 82%, according to a press release from the Ministry of Railways.
The achievement brings the country closer than ever to operating a fully electrified railway system. Fourteen railway zones, including Central, Eastern and Northern Railways, have already achieved 100% electrification. In addition, 25 states and union territories have completed electrification across their rail networks.
Data provided in a written reply to the Lok Sabha highlights the rapid pace of this transformation. Between 2014 and 2025, India electrified 46,900 route kilometres, more than double the 21,801 route kilometres completed in the previous six decades.
In the past two years alone, 7,188 route kilometres were electrified in 2023-24 and 2,701 route kilometres in 2024-25.
The environmental benefits of this transition are major. Rail transport emits 89% less CO2 than road transport, and Indian Railways is complementing electrification with renewable energy initiatives. So far, 898 MW of solar power has been commissioned at 2,626 stations, reinforcing India’s commitment to a greener transportation network.
Electrification is advancing consistently across zones. The Central, East Coast, East Central, Eastern, Konkan Railway, Kolkata Metro, North Central Railway, North Eastern Railway, Northern Railway, South Central Railway, South East Central Railway, South Eastern Railway, West Central Railway and Western Railway have achieved full electrification.
Other zones, such as North Western, Southern, Northeast Frontier and South Western Railway, have crossed 95% electrification.
The progress is equally impressive state-wise as well. Most states are fully electrified, while Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are nearing completion. In the North Eastern region, the broad gauge networks in Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura and Mizoram have been 100% electrified, while Assam stands at 92%, with work underway to complete the remaining sections.
All new rail lines and multi-tracking projects are now being sanctioned with electrification integrated from the beginning. According to the Ministry of Railways, the completion timeline for electrification projects depends on factors such as forest clearances, relocation of utilities, statutory approvals, geological and topographical conditions, law and order situations and climatic constraints, which can affect progress at different project sites.
Beyond expanding connectivity, electrification is central to India’s sustainability agenda. The move to electric rail corridors is helping dramatically cut carbon emissions. For instance, transporting 1 tonne of freight over 1 km emits 101 g of CO2 by road, compared with just 11.5 g by rail, an almost eightfold reduction.
The Indian Railways aims for 100% electrification while contributing to the nation’s goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2030. Every new rail project now includes electrification from the outset, ensuring that India’s railway system grows greener, more efficient and globally competitive.
Shares of U.S. medical supplies giant Medline jumped more than 30% in its debut on the Nasdaq on Wednesday after the biggest initial public offering of the year globally.
The stock opened at $35, up from its $29 IPO price.
The private equity-owned company sold a little over 216 million shares on Tuesday, raising $6.26 billion in an upsized offering that finished off a strong year for new listings and bolstered optimism about the IPO market in 2026. Shares of Medline will trade under the symbol MDLN.
That IPO pricing gives Medline a market value of at least $37 billion, based on the shares listed in its regulatory filings.
“Historically, we’ve done very little advertising, very little marketing, and this gives us a way to amplify our voice and actually expand really the receptivity of who we are,” Medline CEO Jim Boyle told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” earlier Wednesday. “We are the largest company you’ve never heard of, and we happen to be everywhere. And that’s a really interesting thing.”
The U.S. IPO market has held steady despite market volatility in the spring, driven by President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs, and the longest U.S. government shutdown in history in the fall. Just over 200 IPOs have priced this year, including Medline, which is the largest U.S. listing since Rivian‘s $13.7 billion deal in November 2021, according to data compiled by CNBC.
But Medline’s IPO is also among the biggest private equity-backed listings. Three private equity firms — Blackstone, Carlyle and Hellman & Friedman — acquired a majority stake in the company in 2021 for a whopping $34 billion. At the time, the deal was the biggest leveraged buyout since the financial crisis.
CEO Jim Boyle celebrates with others as medical supplies giant Medline (MDLN) holds it’s IPO at the Nasdaq stock market site in Times Square in New York, Dec. 17, 2025.
Shannon Stapleton | Reuters
Medline, founded in 1966, is based in Northfield, Illinois. The company manufactures and distributes roughly 335,000 different medical and surgical supplies — from gloves, masks and scalpels to wheelchairs. Medline has customers in more than 100 countries and, as of the end of 2024, employed more than 43,000 workers worldwide.
Medline’s total debt was around $16.8 billion as of late September 2025. The company raked in $25.5 billion in net sales in 2024.
Medline’s earlier plans to go public this year were postponed due to uncertainty around tariffs affecting products from Asia. The majority of the company’s products are sourced or manufactured in Asian nations, particularly China.
Medline expects a $150 million to $200 million hit from tariffs to income before taxes in fiscal 2026.
The company competes with names like McKesson and Cardinal Health.
— CNBC’s Gina Francolla contributed to this report
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