The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has begun work on a review of the Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements (LODR), its chairperson Tuhin Kanta Pandey said, setting the stage for what could be one of the regulator’s most significant clean-ups of corporate disclosure rules in recent years.
Speaking at the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) Financing Summit 2025, Pandey said that the revamp is at a preparatory stage and that a consultation paper can be expected “soon”. He did not provide a timeline to release the paper.
“That’s a big regulation and the process has begun. We will have lots of consultation and put out a consultation paper,” he said, adding that the scale of the exercise means “it will take some time”.
The Sebi LODR Regulations, 2015, mandate listed companies to meet specific corporate governance standards and make timely, transparent disclosures to the public and shareholders.
“Sebi might not completely change the LODR regulations as it has already been changed many times since 2015. If they are going back to the drawing board, they need not be reactive in changing regulations,” said Abhiraj Arora, partner at Saraf and Partners, a Noida-based law firm.
“They may need to reach out to companies and have a consultation process and state out the mischief they have observed, which needs amendments and whether it can be implemented without any major amendment or by way of a circular,” said Arora.
Earlier this year, Sebi updated its disclosure rules by increasing the High-Value Debt Listed Entity threshold for outstanding listed non-convertible debt from ₹500 crore to ₹1,000 crore. In addition, SME-listed companies with either paid-up equity capital above ₹10 crore or net worth above ₹25 crore, as of the previous financial year-end, were asked to comply with Regulation 23 on related-party transactions. These were among the many changes the regulator made to the rules in 2025.
“Sebi might be revisiting LODR as high volumes of initial public offerings (IPOs) can lead to quality of disclosures deteriorating,” said a senior executive from a leading consulting firm.
The Indian stock market has seen a surge in listings with companies raising over ₹2 trillion in equity capital in the current financial year, according to the Sebi chief.
Sebi’s move signals a broader push by the market regulator to simplify and streamline its regulatory architecture. Pandey said that Sebi’s aim is not to expand the rulebook but to modernize it.
“Our agenda is not about adding more rules. It is about shaping a smarter rulebook. One that is simpler to understand, proportionate to the risks it seeks to address, and supportive of innovation,” said Pandey at the event.
Settlement norms
Sebi is also looking to review the regulator’s settlement regulation and is expecting to release a consultation paper soon, according to the Sebi chief.
Mint had reported last week that the market watchdog will release a consultation paper on settlement norms by the end of the year and that it is looking to simplify, expedite, and make the process more accessible by allowing parties to voluntarily settle cases rather than await regulatory action.
A review of Sebi’s regulations is already “well advanced” in the areas of stockbroker and mutual fund rules, Pandey said. The regulator is seeking to remove redundancies, clear ambiguities and retire outdated constructs, with each leg of reform open to public consultation.
Sebi is also preparing to introduce a closing-auction mechanism in the equity markets. Pandey said the regulator is “close to enabling” the framework after extensive consultation with stakeholders. The move is expected to improve price discovery in the final minutes of trade and reduce volatility currently associated with market close. Exchanges have advocated the change as a way to align Indian market practices with mature global markets, where such auctions are standard.
