India’s markets regulator SEBI has proposed increasing the annual limit on ISINs for privately placed debt, reversing recent restrictions to offer more refinancing flexibility for non-banking financial companies and large corporates, amid efforts to streamline the corporate bond market.
India’s markets regulator has proposed widening the annual limit on International Securities Identification Numbers for privately placed debt, a change that could give non-banking financial companies and large corporates more room to manage refinancing and repayment schedules. The Securities and Exchange Board of India said the cap should rise to 17 from 14, reversing a tighter framework introduced in 2022 and bringing the ceiling back to the earlier level. According to SEBI’s consultation paper, the idea is to ease pressure in the corporate bond market and reduce fragmentation.
Under the proposal, plain-vanilla debt securities would account for as many as 12 maturing ISINs a year, up from nine, while the combined allowance for structured debt securities, market-linked debt securities, floating rate bonds, zero coupon bonds and tier-II debt capital instruments would remain capped at five. SEBI’s October 2025 master circular currently limits issuers to 14 maturing ISINs in a financial year, with nine for plain-vanilla instruments and five for structured or market-linked securities.
The regulator had cut the overall cap from 17 to 14 in November 2022, with the revised rules taking effect from April 1, 2023. That earlier change was aimed at reducing the number of separate bond issues outstanding at once, but market participants have argued that the tighter limit can complicate refinancing for issuers with large and varied debt programmes. SEBI’s new proposal suggests it is now more willing to prioritise flexibility as borrowing conditions and funding needs evolve.
SEBI has also shown some willingness to relax the rules around listed and unlisted debt instruments. In December 2024, it eased restrictions for issuers that wanted to convert originally unlisted ISINs outstanding as of December 31, 2023 into listed securities, allowing those instruments to be excluded from the annual maturity cap. That step, together with the latest proposal, points to a broader effort to make India’s corporate bond market easier to use without abandoning regulatory oversight.
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