- Sebi received 20,000 comments on CAS, market timings, and settlement proposals by Oct 3
- Comments far exceed the 3,500 initially reported by Sebi Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey
- Sebi plans to quickly review responses and issue a circular on the CAS framework soon
Markets regulator Sebi has received 20,000 comments on its consultation paper seeking views on proposed changes to the Closing Auction Session (CAS), market timings and settlement methodology for derivative contracts.
"The number of comments received till 7:00 PM today, i.e. October 3, 2026, stands at 20,000," Sebi said in a post on X on Saturday.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) had sought public comments till October 3 on its proposal to review certain aspects of the CAS mechanism, market timings and the settlement methodology for derivative contracts.
The number of responses reached 20,000 by the end of the consultation period, significantly higher than the over 3,500 comments that Sebi Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey had earlier said the regulator had received.
Asked when the final framework or circular on the CAS mechanism could be expected, Pandey said the regulator would quickly examine the responses and move ahead with the process.
"Today is the last date, and we will actually quickly look at all these comments and go ahead, because I think our proposals are quite clear," Pandey said at an event organised by CPAI (Commodity & Capital Market Participants Association of India).
The regulator would not require much time to compile and analyse the responses as the proposals in the consultation paper were clearly defined, he added.
When asked whether a circular on the matter could be expected soon, he said, "Yes, it will be".
Sebi had in September proposed changes to the CAS framework and the methodology for determining settlement prices of index and stock derivatives on expiry days. The review followed the roll-out of the CAS in the equity cash segment and concerns over its impact on derivatives settlement prices.
The CAS is aimed at determining closing prices through an auction process.
Sebi has said the review is intended to address specific issues while seeking views on different possible ways of resolving them.
Pandey said the consultation process was designed to address a specific problem while allowing market participants to suggest different approaches to resolving it.
Separately, speaking about the development of the corporate bond derivatives market, Pandey said regulatory enablement, technical infrastructure and market participation would all be important for the segment to grow.
He said Sebi was seeking to promote exchange-traded systems in the bond market and had already taken steps such as introducing an electronic bidding platform for primary issuances, regulating online bond platform providers and strengthening the request-for-quote mechanism for secondary-market transactions.
"Bond indices and derivatives and bond indices will be, I would think, at a major milestone going forward," Pandey said.
On foreign portfolio investor (FPI) flows, Pandey said Sebi's role was to facilitate easier onboarding and access to Indian markets, while investment decisions ultimately depend on returns and opportunities available across countries.
He said Sebi was working with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on measures to further ease access for FPIs and noted that the regulator had already taken several steps, including allowing FPIs access to non-agricultural commodity derivatives.
Pandey said FPIs' holdings could rise or fall depending on investment opportunities across markets.
"All what we can do at the regulatory stage is to listen to what the FPIs have to say, easing their onboarding, easier the access," he said.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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