In its 211th board meeting, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) approved a series of reforms aimed at easing IPO processes, increasing foreign investment access, and tightening governance. Key among them is relaxation of norms around the Minimum Public Offer (MPO) and Minimum Public Shareholding (MPS) for large IPOs. The IPO anchor book has been widened now including insurers and pension funds and the anchor reservation portion raised from one-third to 40%.REITs will now be treated as equities, boosting their attractiveness to mutual funds.

Mutual fund regulations were also tweaked: maximum exit load reduced from 5 % to 3 %, and stricter disclosure and approval norms introduced for Related Party Transactions (RPTs) based on consolidated turnover. SEBI also launched India Market Access, a centralized web portal for Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs), and plans to open regional offices in major cities to improve regulatory outreach. The changes are poised to reduce friction, increase transparency, and help deepen market participation especially from institutional investors.