Sebi plans new norms to aid start-ups in crowdsourcing, IPOs

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), tasked with greater powers and gearing up for a larger role, said on Sunday that it is framing new norms to help young entrepreneurs raise funds through crowdsourcing and for listing of start-ups, while it plans to tap social media in a big way to help investors.

Besides, the capital market regulator would further streamline its enforcement process to ensure uniformity in its approach and improve the efficiency of its enforcement proceedings across the organisation.

The initiatives lined up for the coming financial year also include an "extensive and integrated use of technology to facilitate and further ease the investing process in the securities markets through measures like e-IPO (Initial Public Offering) and Aadhar-based e-KYC".

Sebi said it would take proactive steps to meet the "aspirations of young entrepreneurs and cater to the financing and listing needs of start-ups with measures like Institutional Trading Platform (ITP), crowd-funding etc or a separate carve out for them in the ICDR (Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations".

The market watchdog would also enhance, significantly, its investor education and awareness efforts through collaboration with other agencies and through empanelment of more 'Resource Persons' and would tap the increasing stature of social media for enhancing investor awareness an education.

Sebi also said it would enhance the experience and interface of investors and other stakeholders through upgradation of its website.

These are part of the capital market regulator's proposed policy initiatives in the forthcoming 2015-16 financial year, which were approved by the its board on Sunday along with its budget for the year.

Sebi is working on a new roadmap to attract larger number of retail investors towards capital markets, develop a vibrant bond market and create a unified regulatory regime for all segments of derivatives, including commodities.

This assumes significance in the backdrop of government setting an ambitious US $10 billion disinvestment target for FY16, beginning from April 1, with plans to give a larger pie of shares in state-owned companies to the public shareholders rather than largely depending on institutions, including from overseas and within the country.

The new roadmap, to be framed in consultation with the government and other stakeholders, follows proposals made by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the Union Budget, including those about the merger of commodities market regulator FMC (Forward Markets Commission) with Sebi to create a unified regulatory body for markets.

Besides, Finance Bill, 2015 has also proposed 'securities' to be taken out of the regulatory ambit of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the move is being seen in line with an overall thinking that Sebi should be made the comprehensive regulator for all kinds of securities without any regulatory overlaps.