Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has released a consultation paper proposing a draft circular under the SEBI (Index Providers) Regulations, 2024, aimed at strengthening transparency, governance, and accountability in the administration of market indices.
๐๐๐ฒ ๐ก๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ฅ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐๐:
(i) An index will be classified as a โSignificant Indexโ if it is tracked or benchmarked by domestic mutual fund schemes with cumulative Assets Under Management (AUM) exceeding โน20,000 crore.
(ii) The AUM threshold will be calculated based on the daily average of AUM of domestic mutual funds schemes for each month of the past six months ending on June 30 and December 31 of every year.
(iii)ย For schemes tracking multiple indices, AUM will be apportioned proportionately.
(iv) In case of index of indices, the cumulative AUM tracking such underlying indices would also include the AUM tracking such indices in proportion to the respective weights
(v) Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has also released a list of Significant Indices (Annexure-A), covering major equity, debt, hybrid, and thematic indices administered by NSE Indices, BSE Index Services, and CRISIL.
๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ง๐๐ ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ:
Index Providers administering these Significant Indices must apply for SEBI registration within six months of issuance of this circular, unless the index is already regulated by the Reserve Bank of India (including benchmarks under Section 45W of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 (2 of 1934).
Stakeholders may submit comments/suggestions by February 10, 2026 via SEBIโs public comments portal.
This move marks an important step in formalising oversight of indices that have a systemic impact on the mutual fund ecosystem and investor outcomes.
Copy of the circular is enclosed.
Readers may also refer to our previous post: SEBI notifies the Index Providers Regulations