The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has granted approval to five initial public offerings (IPOs) representing a diverse portfolio of companies across digital lending, alcoholic beverages, textiles, precision engineering, and engineered fabrics sectors. The combined fundraising potential of these offerings exceeds ₹3,000 crores, marking significant capital market activity.

Kissht Leads with Largest Digital Lending IPO

OnEMI Technology Solutions, the company operating the digital lending platform Kissht, secured approval for the largest offering in this batch. The IPO structure includes multiple components designed to provide flexibility and growth capital.

Founded in 2016, Kissht operates as a digital lending platform through its mobile application, providing credit solutions for both consumption and business requirements. The company positions itself as a fast and personalised lending service provider in the competitive fintech space.

Alcobrew Distilleries Enters Premium Beverages Market

Alcobrew Distilleries received approval for its IPO comprising a fresh issue worth up to ₹258.26 crores alongside an offer for sale of 1.8 crore shares by promoters. The company manufactures and markets alcoholic beverages across multiple categories and price segments throughout India.

Product Portfolio:

• Whisky, vodka, and rum categories
• Brand portfolio includes Golfer's Shot, White & Blue, White Hills, and One More
• Multi-segment pricing strategy covering various market tiers

The proceeds from the fresh issue will support business expansion initiatives, working capital requirements, and general corporate purposes, enabling the company to strengthen its market position in India's alcoholic beverages sector.

Manufacturing Sector IPOs Gain Momentum

Three manufacturing companies across different specialisations also secured Sebi approval, demonstrating strong interest in industrial sector public offerings.

Aastha Spintex Textile Expansion

Aastha Spintex plans an entirely fresh issue of up to ₹160 crores through the book-building route. The textile player will primarily utilise proceeds to fund the acquisition of Falcon Yarns along with general corporate requirements. BOI Merchant Bankers and PNB Investment Services serve as book-running lead managers, while Bigshare Services acts as the registrar.

Indo MIM Precision Engineering Growth

Incorporated in 1996, Indo MIM specialises in manufacturing precision components using metal injection moulding technology. The company's IPO structure reflects both growth and debt optimisation strategies.

Kusumgar Engineered Fabrics

Mumbai-based Kusumgar plans to raise ₹650 crores entirely through an offer for sale by promoters, with no fresh issue component. The company manufactures woven, coated, and laminated synthetic fabrics serving diverse end markets including aerospace and defence, industrial and automotive, and outdoor and lifestyle segments.

Market Implications

These five IPO approvals represent significant diversity in sector representation and fundraising approaches. The mix includes both growth-focused fresh issues and liquidity-providing offer for sale components, catering to different investor preferences and company requirements. The approvals span established manufacturing businesses and emerging fintech platforms, reflecting the breadth of companies seeking public market access.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has unveiled comprehensive proposals to overhaul the trading-related framework at stock exchanges, targeting simplified rules and reduced compliance burden for market participants. The initiative represents SEBI's broader commitment to facilitating ease of doing business across all stock exchanges, including commodity derivatives exchanges.

Consolidated Framework Structure

SEBI's consultation paper suggests merging multiple overlapping provisions into a single, consolidated framework applicable to both equity and commodity segments. The consolidation will encompass trading rules, price bands, circuit breakers, bulk and block deal disclosures, call auction mechanisms, liquidity enhancement schemes, margin trading facility (MTF), unique client code (UCC), PAN requirements, trading hours, and daily price limits.

The regulator has proposed that provisions specifically applicable to clearing corporations should be separated and moved into a dedicated master circular to eliminate regulatory overlap. This structural change aims to create clearer demarcation of responsibilities between exchanges and clearing corporations.

Enhanced Margin Trading Facility Requirements

Significant changes have been proposed for margin trading facility norms, with SEBI suggesting an increase in minimum net worth requirements for brokers. The current requirement will be raised from ₹3.00 crore to ₹5.00 crore or higher, as specified by individual exchanges.

Timelines for submitting net-worth and auditor certificates will be aligned with financial reporting cycles, while redundant due diligence clauses will be deleted to streamline operations.

Transparency and Disclosure Improvements

To enhance market transparency, SEBI has proposed merging bulk and block deal disclosures and shifting dissemination to the client PAN level instead of the UCC level. This change will significantly reduce manual reporting requirements for brokers while improving data accuracy and accessibility.

The regulator suggests presenting market-wide circuit breaker rules, dynamic price band flexing, IPO price bands, and call auction procedures in tabular format for better clarity. Several duplicative or outdated operational examples will be removed to eliminate confusion.

Liberalized Client Code Modifications

Client Code Modification rules will undergo substantial liberalization to accommodate genuine market needs:

• Genuine Corrections: Permitted for legitimate client code modifications
• Multiple UCCs: PAN-linked multiple unique client codes allowed for specified client categories
• FPI Transfers: Easier obligation transfer among Foreign Portfolio Investor family accounts
• Waiver Frequency: Increased from current levels to once per month
• Reporting Requirements: Discontinuation of quarterly waiver reporting to SEBI

Streamlined Market Operations

SEBI proposes removing obsolete market-making provisions for the cash segment and merging them into a principle-based Liquidity Enhancement Scheme (LES) framework. This unified approach will cover equities, derivatives, and commodities uniformly, providing exchanges with greater flexibility in designing schemes and conducting half-yearly board reviews.

Trading hours across all segments, including equity, derivatives, commodities, currency, RFQ, EGR, and the Social Stock Exchange, will be consolidated into a single comprehensive section for operational efficiency.

Removal of Outdated Provisions

Several outdated provisions have been identified for elimination, including negotiated-deal exemptions, guidelines for dedicated debt segments, forward contracts in commodities, MOU-based trading, and unnecessary reporting requirements. These removals will significantly reduce administrative burden while maintaining market integrity.

Short-selling and securities lending and borrowing (SLB) provisions will be clarified and incorporated into the main framework, with daily disclosures mandated and clear demarcation of responsibilities between exchanges and clearing corporations.

Implementation Timeline

SEBI has invited public comments on these comprehensive proposals until January 30, allowing market participants to provide feedback on the proposed changes. The consultation process demonstrates SEBI's commitment to inclusive regulatory development and stakeholder engagement in shaping India's financial market infrastructure.