Capital markets regulator Sebi has proposed relaxing mandatory call recording requirements for research analysts interacting with institutional investors, in a move aimed at reducing compliance burden and improving ease of doing business.

In a consultation paper released on Monday, Sebi proposed amendments to the Research Analysts Regulations, 2014 and related master circulars to make maintenance of call recordings optional for institutional investor interactions.

At present, research analysts and research entities are required to maintain records of all communications with clients and prospective clients, including emails, SMS records and telephone recordings.

The existing framework requires these records to be preserved for five years, and longer in case of disputes or regulatory review.

Sebi said the proposal follows representations from market participants and the Industry Standards Forum for Research Analysts, which argued that institutional investors are sophisticated entities capable of independently assessing research inputs and investment risks.

According to the consultation paper, institutional investors generally possess specialised knowledge, stronger due diligence capabilities and better awareness of legal and regulatory protections compared with retail investors.

The regulator said the original requirement for recording client interactions was primarily designed as an investor protection measure and supervisory tool, especially for retail participants.”Considering the fact that research analyst business does not involve client-specific investment advice, asset management or transaction execution, it is proposed to relax the existing requirement of maintenance of call records for clients which are institutional investors,” Sebi said in the paper.

Under the proposal, research analysts would continue maintaining all other communication records with institutional clients, including emails, written records and SMS communication, but telephone call recording would no longer be mandatory.

However, the requirement to maintain full records, including call recordings, would continue unchanged for retail clients.

Sebi said the move is intended to create a more “risk-proportionate approach” while lowering operational and compliance costs for research analysts.

The regulator has also proposed formally defining “institutional investor” under the Research Analysts Regulations by linking it to the definition already provided under SEBI’s ICDR Regulations.

The proposed changes would affect interactions involving institutional investors such as mutual funds, insurance companies, pension funds, banks and qualified institutional buyers.

The consultation paper also highlighted that research analysts differ from investment advisers because their services do not typically involve personalised investment recommendations or direct execution of trades.

Industry participants have increasingly raised concerns over the operational complexity and storage costs associated with maintaining large volumes of recorded conversations, particularly for institutional interactions where communication often takes place frequently across teams and platforms.

Sebi move comes as the regulator continues broader efforts to simplify compliance processes across various market intermediaries while retaining core investor protection safeguards.

Capital markets regulator Sebi has proposed a wide-ranging revamp of exchange-traded derivatives regulations aimed at simplifying compliance norms, removing redundant provisions and easing operational requirements for stock exchanges and clearing corporations.

In a consultation paper released on May 14, the regulator proposed multiple changes across equity, currency, commodity and interest rate derivatives segments as part of a broader “ease of doing business” initiative for market infrastructure institutions.

Sebi said the review seeks to simplify regulatory requirements, discontinue duplication and reduce the compliance burden on exchanges by restructuring and consolidating existing master circulars governing derivatives markets.

One of the key proposals is the removal of the “Close to the Money” (CTM) option series mechanism in commodity derivatives. The regulator said the CTM framework makes the exercise mechanism complex for market participants and creates uncertainty for option sellers.

Sebi noted that leading global commodity exchanges do not follow the CTM concept and that simpler in-the-money and out-of-the-money structures are easier for traders to understand and execute.

The regulator has also proposed reducing the mandatory number of Product Advisory Committee meetings for non-agricultural commodity derivatives from two meetings annually to one meeting per year, aligning them with agricultural commodity norms.

According to the consultation paper, exchanges argued that non-agricultural commodity contracts generally require fewer specification changes and that attendance in such meetings has often remained weak for low-liquidity contracts.Sebi further proposed granting exchanges greater operational flexibility in advancing expiry dates of commodity contracts during sudden disruptions such as strikes, erratic weather or unexpected market closures. Under the proposed framework, exchanges would be allowed to take such decisions with approval from the managing director and provide “adequate notice” instead of the existing mandatory 10-day advance intimation rule.

Another proposal relates to position limit monitoring in derivatives markets. Sebi clarified that exchanges would continue to remain responsible for monitoring position limits but may outsource the operational work to clearing corporations through formal agreements defining roles and responsibilities.

The regulator also proposed discontinuing several outdated requirements, including lower base minimum capital norms for brokers without nationwide terminals, noting that regional stock exchanges have largely ceased operations and internet-based trading has become standard.

Similarly, Sebi proposed removing separate certification guidelines for derivatives dealers and brokers because these are already covered under the Sebi certification regulations for associated persons in securities markets.

In another move toward digitisation, the regulator proposed replacing newspaper disclosures of derivatives transactions with website-based disclosures by exchanges.

The consultation paper also proposes merging multiple derivatives-related circulars and chapters into consolidated frameworks for equity derivatives, currency derivatives and interest rate derivatives to reduce overlap and improve consistency.

Sebi has also suggested separating regulatory provisions applicable to stock exchanges and clearing corporations into distinct master circulars, reflecting increasingly segregated operational roles after interoperability and independent clearing member registration frameworks.

The regulator has invited public comments on the proposals until June 4.

In an address earlier this week, the prime minister said Indians should make arrangements to work from home and take more virtual meetings. If citizens must leave home, they should take public transportation, such as the bus or metro, or carpool if a private vehicle is necessary.

The prime minister also asked citizens to limit international travel and pause purchases to keep foreign currency in the country, and asked farmers to halve their fertilizer use, which requires oil to produce. Conserving oil and other resources is a patriotic duty as the war in Iran strains them, Modi said.

“Patriotism is not only about the willingness to sacrifice one’s life on the border. In these times, it is about living responsibly and fulfilling our duties to the nation in our daily lives,” Modi said Sunday during a speech in the southern city of Hyderabad, according to the BBC. 

Modi’s appeal to Indians to work from home is meant to reduce commuting in private vehicles, which are the dominant mode of transportation in India. In 2025, the country of 1.5 billion people registered 25 million new vehicles, 88% of which were private vehicles, either two-wheeled or cars, according to IMPRI, a startup research think tank. That’s compared to 16.3 million registered in the U.S. in 2025, according to Cox Automotive. 

The prime minister’s comments come as the war in Iran has slowed traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 million barrels of oil passed daily before the war. This flow of oil has slowed to a trickle because of the conflict, and India may be one of the countries most at risk. 

The country imports 85% of the fuel it uses. About half of its crude imports and 60% of its liquefied natural gas imports must pass through the Strait of Hormuz. India spent nearly $175 billion on petroleum product imports, about 22% of its total imports, as of the financial year ended in March. 

Investors react to austerity

Modi’s austerity measures were not popular with investors, and the Indian stock market fell sharply on Monday. 

The BSE Sensex, which tracks the 30 largest companies listed on India’s oldest exchange in Bombay, closed down 1.70% on the day after Modi’s comments. The Nifty 50, which tracks the 50 largest companies across 13 sectors on the National Stock Exchange, closed down 1.49% Monday.

And yet, India is not the only country that is being affected by the Iran war. Asian countries, many of which rely more on Middle Eastern oil than those in other regions, have implemented austerity measures to cushion the impact of the Iranian oil shock. 

Vietnam has been urging private businesses to allow workers to work from home since March, but some countries have taken their efforts to conserve fuel even further. Several countries, such as the Philippines, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, have moved to implement a four-day workweek to reduce fuel use.

Despite a shaky ceasefire, the conflict between the U.S. and Iran is seemingly not close to ending. Trump said Monday the suspension of hostilities may end soon after he rejected Iran’s most recent counterproposal, calling it “a piece of garbage.”

“They think I’ll get tired, or get bored, or I’ll have some pressure,” Trump said Monday, according to CNN. “There’s no pressure at all. We’re going to have a complete victory.”

A Chinese court ruled that companies cannot terminate employees just to replace them with artificial intelligence systems, as authorities juggle the need to stabilize the domestic labor market with a global race to develop AI technologies.

Americans lost $333 million to crypto ATM fraud last year alone. That staggering number sits at the heart of why Bitcoin Depot, the country’s biggest Bitcoin ATM operator, just made a sweeping change to how it does business — one that affects every single person who walks up to one of its machines.

Starting this February, the company began rolling out a requirement for customers to show identification before completing any transaction, not just when signing up for the first time. No ID, no Bitcoin. Simple as that.

A History Of Half-Measures

It is not as though Bitcoin Depot had never tried to address fraud before. Back in October 2025, the company introduced ID checks for new users joining the platform. But returning customers? They could keep transacting without further scrutiny. Critics say that gap was wide enough for bad actors to slip through — and the numbers suggest they did exactly that.

The FBI’s data on crypto ATM-related fraud losses last year made it impossible to ignore the scale of the problem. Scammers, many of them targeting elderly Americans, have perfected a disturbing routine: they coach victims into feeding cash into Bitcoin ATMs under false pretenses — fake government notices, phony tech support calls — then vanish once the money clears. Because Bitcoin transactions cannot be reversed, victims are almost always left with nothing.

Legal Heat From All Directions

Bitcoin Depot has not just been dealing with bad headlines. It has been dealing with lawyers. Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell filed a lawsuit against the company this month, alleging it knowingly allowed crypto scams to happen while stripping away fraud protections.

Campbell’s office asked a court to block Bitcoin Depot from accepting any transaction above $10,000 unless additional fraud-prevention steps were taken.

Maine told a different story — one with a price tag. The company reached a $1.9 million settlement with that state’s consumer credit bureau after agreeing to return money to scam victims. And Iowa’s Supreme Court ruled, somewhat controversially, that Bitcoin Depot was legally permitted to keep cash deposited through scams, since customers must confirm they own the receiving wallet.

According to reports, at least 17 US states have now passed laws demanding better protections at crypto ATMs, including daily spending limits and clearer fraud warnings posted on the machines.

9,000 Machines, One New Rule

Bitcoin Depot’s reach is enormous. Reports say the company operates over 9,000 kiosks across North America, making it the dominant player in a US market that accounts for 78% of all Bitcoin ATMs worldwide — more than 31,000 machines in total, based on data from Coin ATM Radar.

CEO Scott Buchanan framed the new ID policy as a security upgrade, not just a legal shield. “By requiring identity verification at every transaction, we are taking an additional step to strengthen security, protect customers, and maintain the integrity of our services,” he said.

The company says continuous verification will allow it to flag suspicious behavior tied to specific customers, locations, or amounts before a transaction is even approved.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is preparing a comprehensive overhaul of its portfolio management services (PMS) regulations, chairperson Tuhin Kanta Pandey said on Monday. The regulator will also look into brokers’ representations seeking its intervention on the Reserve Bank of India’s new capital market funding norms, he said at a PMS conclave.

On the PMS norms, Pandey said, “We propose to carry out a comprehensive review… so that the framework remains effective, adaptable, and aligned with evolving market dynamics.” The draft regulations will be released for public consultation before Sebi’s June board meeting, he added.

The PMS industry, which has about 2.15 lakh clients, managed Rs 10.5 lakh crore in assets (excluding EPFO and PF) as of January 31, 2026, growing at a 17% CAGR, according to Sebi data.

“But regulation alone cannot build a strong industry. The real strength of PMS will come from what firms do every day — in governance, suitability, technology and conduct,” Pandey said.

He stressed that investor suitability must remain central to the business model. “Risk profiling, suitability assessment, and client communication must be clear, consistent, and evidence‑based. Going ahead, PMS distributors conduct matters the industry must guard against mis‑selling,” he said.

New RBI funding norms

Separately, Pandey said Sebi would examine representations from stock brokers on the Reserve Bank of India’s new capital market funding norms. The RBI has proposed raising bank‑guarantee collateral requirements for proprietary traders to 100% from 50%.

“We have received a representation. I saw it on Friday. We will see what we can and need to do on it because RBI had initially opened draft guidelines and sought their opinion,” Pandey said. “It is in relation to issues around bank guarantees and how much collateral has to be given for proprietary trading. There are three to four issues. Since the representation has come to us, we will have a look at it.”

Speaking to the media after RBI’s board meeting in New Delhi, Governor Sanjay Malhotra said the central bank is not considering a review of the recently announced rules on bank financing of stock‑market intermediaries. The framework was finalised after due consultation, he said. “There is no change that we are contemplating.”

Under the new regulations, banks’ lending to brokers will face more scrutiny in terms of collateral requirements as well as purpose of the loan, while proprietary trading is seen taking the biggest hit

Oversight on grey‑market trading

Pandey said Sebi is working on a mechanism to introduce oversight on ‘to‑be‑listed’ stocks — a move aimed at grey‑market activity linked to upcoming IPOs.

“I think we have fairly deliberated this issue internally, and there is a possibility of such through the exchange mechanism for to‑be‑listed stocks — not the entire unlisted space, but the to‑be‑listed space where Sebi’s jurisdiction comes from the statute,” he said.

He added that Sebi would work out the operational details and issue a consultation paper in due course.

Senior Sebi employee suspended

Pandey also addressed the suspension of a general manager on Friday in connection with a “sensitive vigilance matter.” The regulator is contemplating disciplinary proceedings.

“The evidence was egregious enough for us to act,” Pandey said. “It is important that if there is any such case, we will get to the bottom of it.”