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Capital markets regulator Sebi has introduced a special one-year window to allow investors to complete their pending transfer and dematerialisation of physical securities from February 5.

This will help investors regularise and complete transfer-cum-dematerialisation of securities and would facilitate such investors to get rightful access to their assets.

In a circular issued on Friday, Sebi said, “For investors who were unable to transfer their physical securities prior to April 1, 2019 due to various reasons, including procedural or documentation related challenges, the special window will open from February 5, 2026 to February 4, 2027.

The window will also be available for such transfer requests which were submitted earlier and were rejected/returned/not attended to due to deficiency in the documents/ process/ or otherwise, Sebi said.

The regulator has made it mandatory from April 1, 2019, for all share transfers to be carried out only in dematerialised form, a move intended to bring transparency and curb fraud in securities transactions.

However, several investors, particularly those with legacy holdings or incomplete paperwork, had faced hurdles in complying with the new rules.

The latest move will provide relief to investors and allow them to regularise ownership of their holdings without prolonged legal formalities, the regulator said.

The provisions of the circular come into effect from February 5, 2026, it added.

ALSO READ: SEBI Simplifies Securities Credit To Demat Accounts From April 2

Markets regulator Sebi has streamlined the process of crediting securities to dematerialised accounts by doing away with the requirement of letter of confirmation, a move that will reduce the period of transfer of securities from 150 days to 30 days.

In a circular issued on Friday, Sebi said presently listed companies and registrars to an issue and share transfer agents (RTAs) issue a letter of confirmation (LOC) to investors, which is submitted to the depository participant for credit of securities.

This process generally takes around 150 days.

To enhance investor convenience and reduce timelines and risks, the regulator has decided to do away with the requirement of issuance of LOC, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said.

Under the revised framework, RTAs and listed companies will directly credit securities to the investors’ demat accounts after carrying out due diligence.

The change is expected to bring down the timeline for credit of securities from 150 days to 30 days and eliminate risks related to loss or misuse of LOCs, Sebi said.

The revised framework will come into effect from April 2, 2026. Any LOC issued before this date may continue to be used by investors for dematerialisation within the prescribed timeline, it added.

The markets watchdog said the initiative is aimed at improving ease of doing investments, enhancing operational efficiency and strengthening investor protection.

ALSO READ: SEBI Approves Six IPOs: Xtranet Tech, HD Fire Protect, Parijat Industries, Others

Markets regulator Sebi has streamlined the process of crediting securities to dematerialised accounts by doing away with the requirement of letter of confirmation, a move that will reduce the period of transfer of securities from 150 days to 30 days.

In a circular issued on Friday, Sebi said presently listed companies and registrars to an issue and share transfer agents (RTAs) issue a letter of confirmation (LOC) to investors, which is submitted to the depository participant for credit of securities.

This process generally takes around 150 days.

To enhance investor convenience and reduce timelines and risks, the regulator has decided to do away with the requirement of issuance of LOC, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said.

Under the revised framework, RTAs and listed companies will directly credit securities to the investors’ demat accounts after carrying out due diligence.

The change is expected to bring down the timeline for credit of securities from 150 days to 30 days and eliminate risks related to loss or misuse of LOCs, Sebi said.

The revised framework will come into effect from April 2, 2026. Any LOC issued before this date may continue to be used by investors for dematerialisation within the prescribed timeline, it added.

The markets watchdog said the initiative is aimed at improving ease of doing investments, enhancing operational efficiency and strengthening investor protection.

The markets regulator also proposed that provisions of January 2025 provisions continue. The paper is open for public comments until January 27, 2026.
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Steamhouse India. Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The new rules have been issued after SEBI observed growing instances of outsized intraday Future Equivalent. File.
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 The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has sought public comments till September 15 on the proposals. File.
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The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has barred financial influencers from using real-time stock prices in their videos. In a circular introducing the new regulation, SEBI said that content creators in the field of stock market education could use prices from three months ago instead of real-time prices.

The new rule aims to limit the influence of financial influencers, often referred to as “finfluencers,” who offer stock market advice without being officially registered as investment advisers. The ban on live market prices in educational content is designed to protect investors from being potentially misled due to harmful advice.

Many finfluencers, who aren’t officially registered as investment advisers, often give stock tips or market predictions based on live prices. SEBI emphasised that they should not predict future prices or give recommendations related to securities, adding this could lead to risky decisions or even market manipulation.

SEBI intends to make stock market education more focused on knowledge rather than real-time trading, reducing the risk of people being misled by unregulated influencers. The new regulation also aims to prevent impulsive investment decisions driven by short-term market fluctuations. It also mandates influencers to first register with SEBI if they wish to provide stock market advice.

In October, the SEBI restricted registered entities such as mutual fund distributors, stock brokers, stock exchanges, and depositories from associating with unregistered entities.

“Such person (someone who is engaged solely in education) should not be using the market price data of the preceding three months to speak/talk/display the name of any security including using any code name of the security in his/her talk/speech, video, ticker, screen share etc. indicating the future price, advice or recommendation related to security or securities,” SEBI stated in the circular.

New Delhi:

Regulator Sebi on Monday barred eight entities from the securities market and impounded illegal gains of Rs 4.82 crore made from their alleged front-running activities.

Front-running refers to an illegal practice in the stock market where an entity trades based on advanced information from a broker or analyst before the information has been made public.

The findings came after the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) conducted an investigation in respect of the alleged front-running of the trades of Gagandeep Consultancy Private Limited (big client) by certain entities.

The focus of the investigation was to ascertain the violation of provisions of the PFUTP (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices) rules by the entities and the period of investigation was from September 2018 to September 2023.

In its interim order, Sebi found that Ashish Kirti Kothari, his family members, and his HUF (Hindu Undivided Family) are accused of front-running trades of the big client.

During the course of the investigation, the regulator observed that the big client was placing its orders through the stock broker, Nirav Mahendra Sapani, who was working as a dealer at Anvil Share & Stock Broking Private Limited.

Sapani acted as the information carrier, passing insider information about a big client’s trades to Ashish and his associates. Krishna Tukaram Kadam’s accounts were used by Ashish Kirti Kothari and others to conduct front-running trades.

The unlawful gains were shared among the involved parties.

The modus operandi of the operation involved front-runners — Ashish and his associates — placing trades ahead of the big client’s orders based on confidential information. They shared the profits with Sapani, who helped facilitate the trades, and Kadam’s accounts were used to execute these trades and launder the gains.

By indulging in such trades, the entities violated several provisions of the Sebi Act.

Accordingly, the Sebi has restrained these eight entities from buying, selling or dealing in securities, either directly or indirectly, in any manner whatsoever until further orders.

Additionally, “an amount of Rs 4.82 crore being the total unlawful gains earned from the alleged front-running activities, is impounded, jointly and severally, from the Noticees”.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)