logo
AIFs must lead ESG push in unlisted firms, says Sebi's Ruchi Chojer

AIFs must lead ESG push in unlisted firms, says Sebi's Ruchi Chojer

Sebi executive director says AIFs must align with global ESG norms as 40 per cent of capital comes from foreign investors expecting high disclosure standards
BS Reporter Mumbai
Alternate investment funds (AIFs) must play a key role in driving environmental, social, and governance (ESG) adoption among unlisted investee companies, said Ruchi Chojer, Executive Director at the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).
Chojer was speaking at a fireside chat organised by the Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association (IVCA) as part of its Renewable Energy Summit 2025.
She said 40 per cent of AIF capital comes from foreign investors who expect alignment with global disclosure standards and added that the regulator is open to proposals for ESG-labelled AIF categories.
'India will need an estimated $250 billion by 2030 to finance renewable energy, storage, and transmission. Sebi remains committed to enabling this transformation by providing regulatory clarity, reducing policy risk, and supporting innovative investment structures. Our goal is to ensure that India's capital markets continue to serve not just as engines of growth but also as platforms for building a sustainable, future-ready economy,' Chojer said.
Underlining Sebi's efforts, she noted that the Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR) framework has elevated ESG disclosures in India to the level of financial reporting—making them assured, consistent, and decision-useful.
First Published: Jul 15 2025 | 6:35 PM IST
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Green offices witness soaring rental premiums; Delhi on top
Green offices witness soaring rental premiums; Delhi on top

Time of India

time2 hours ago

  • Time of India

Green offices witness soaring rental premiums; Delhi on top

New Delhi: Green-certified buildings are commanding rental premiums of 18% to 22% for conventional office spaces and 47% to 50% for flexible workspaces nationwide, according to data from Altre Digital , a tech-powered workspace and commercial real estate consultancy. Delhi leads with the highest rental premium at 70% to 74%, while Mumbai follows with 28% to 32% premiums. Gurugram demonstrates 18% to 20% premiums, and Hyderabad and Noida both show 12% to 14% premiums. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Select a Course Category CXO Leadership Design Thinking Management others MBA Data Analytics Finance Artificial Intelligence PGDM Technology Data Science healthcare Product Management Public Policy Project Management Healthcare Digital Marketing Degree Operations Management Cybersecurity Data Science MCA Others Skills you'll gain: Technology Strategy & Innovation Emerging Technologies & Digital Transformation Leadership in Technology Management Cybersecurity & Risk Management Duration: 24 Weeks Indian School of Business ISB Chief Technology Officer Starts on Jun 28, 2024 Get Details Skills you'll gain: Operations Strategy for Business Excellence Organizational Transformation Corporate Communication & Crisis Management Capstone Project Presentation Duration: 11 Months IIM Lucknow Chief Operations Officer Programme Starts on Jun 30, 2024 Get Details Skills you'll gain: Customer-Centricity & Brand Strategy Product Marketing, Distribution, & Analytics Digital Strategies & Innovation Skills Leadership Insights & AI Integration Expertise Duration: 10 Months IIM Kozhikode IIMK Chief Marketing and Growth Officer Starts on Apr 7, 2024 Get Details Skills you'll gain: Digital Strategy Development Expertise Emerging Technologies & Digital Trends Data-driven Decision Making Leadership in the Digital Age Duration: 40 Weeks Indian School of Business ISB Chief Digital Officer Starts on Jun 30, 2024 Get Details Multinational occupiers , institutional investors, and flex operators are under increasing pressure to demonstrate ESG alignment in both leasing and development decisions. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Learning Piano Is Easy at 50+ With Just 10 Minutes a Day Simply Piano Learn More Undo "For a long time, commercial real estate was measured by what you could see: square footage, amenities, location. But increasingly, it is being valued for what it enables and conserves such as energy, water and productivity," said Shweta Sawhney, Founder and CEO of Altre Digital. Mature markets like Bangalore show 4% to 6% premiums, indicating sustainability has become a minimum expectation. For flexible workspaces, premiums are even more pronounced, ranging from 12% to 15% in Pune to 95% in Delhi, with the national average of 47% to 50% significantly exceeding conventional office leasing premiums. Live Events

Sebi proposes to standardize valuation methods of gold, silver ETFs
Sebi proposes to standardize valuation methods of gold, silver ETFs

Mint

time5 hours ago

  • Mint

Sebi proposes to standardize valuation methods of gold, silver ETFs

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has unveiled a consultation paper that proposes to bring sweeping changes to how physical gold and silver held by Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are valued. The proposal, open for public comment until 6 August, seeks to replace the current valuation system, which relies on international prices, with a simpler approach grounded in domestic market realities. Currently, mutual fund houses managing gold and silver ETFs use the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) price in US dollars as the benchmark. This price is then converted to Indian rupees and subjected to a host of adjustments—customs duties, local taxes, and variable premiums or discounts—to reflect Indian market conditions. This multi-layered process has given asset management companies (AMCs) leeway to use different sources and frequencies for making these price adjustments, resulting in a lack of uniformity in the valuation methods. Sebi has now proposed that ETFs instead use spot prices for gold and silver published by Indian commodity exchanges like MCX. These prices are polled from a panel of domestic market participants—importers, traders, jewellers—and are meant to reflect real-time supply and demand within India. 'Presently, different asset management companies (AMC) use different sources of domestic benchmark to apply necessary premium/ discount, which leads to non-uniformity of the valuation practice for gold and silver across the MF industry. Further, in the absence of any regulatory direction, AMCs use their discretion to apply premium/ discount resulting in differences in valuation of gold/ silver," Sebi's consultation paper highlighted. There are various service providers/ index providers in India such as jeweller associations, commodities exchanges etc., which publish spot price of commodities including gold and silver under the domestic market condition, Sebi said. 'The commodity exchanges usually poll the spot prices of gold and silver on a daily basis and this price is used as reference price for physical market transactions in gold/ silver within India,' the Sebi paper highlighted. Exchange Traded Funds, or ETFs, are mutual funds that are tradeable in the stock markets just like stocks. And just like a mutual fund, they track an index, sector, commodity or asset. Surendra Mehta, national secretary at the India Bullion and Jewellers Association (IBJA), expressed reservations about Sebi's proposal. 'Commodity exchange spot polling prices of gold and silver are declared at 4.30 pm daily only once in a day. Since the gold and silver market are internationally traded commodities and this market remains open 23 hrs a day, calculating gold and silver price based on particular Indian time can lead to a huge gap between international price and domestic spot price polled by exchange," Mehta said, stressing that the ETF valuation price should be based on LBMA price only. 'Further, when the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) uses IBJA) price for issue and redemption of Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGB) and also for lending against jewellery, IBJA price can also be used for valuation purpose by ETF,' he added. (with contributions from Ram Sahgal)

Are we ready to handle market manipulations in electricity derivatives?
Are we ready to handle market manipulations in electricity derivatives?

Business Standard

time6 hours ago

  • Business Standard

Are we ready to handle market manipulations in electricity derivatives?

With the imminent launch of electricity derivatives in India, regulatory preparedness has become a matter of urgency. The recent Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) order against Jane Street Group (JSG) offers a cautionary tale of strategic exploitation in derivative markets — one that India's electricity sector cannot afford to ignore. The Jane Street case: A wake-up call The JSG case exposed classic intraday manipulation. The group purchased large volumes of BANKNIFTY index and constituent stocks early in the trading day, driving prices upward. Concurrently, it took reverse positions in the options market. Later, they offloaded their holdings, pulling down prices and reaping disproportionate profits in the derivative segment, while absorbing manageable losses in the cash market. This trading pattern, which came to light through a US court case in April 2024, evaded Sebi and exchange surveillance for over 15 months until interim orders were finally issued on July 3, 2025. Notably, the detection did not stem from domestic oversight but through disclosures in litigation abroad. Sebi's timeline illustrates the vulnerability of surveillance systems, even when both cash and derivative markets are governed by the same regulator (Sebi) and the exchange ecosystem is tightly knit (NSE). The strategy deployed by JSG hinged on exploiting illiquidity in the cash segment and leveraging high liquidity in derivatives—particularly BANKNIFTY options around expiry periods. Electricity spot markets: The challenge of dual regulation The electricity market, structured differently, introduces additional layers of complexity. Three power exchanges—Indian Energy Exchange (IEX), Power Exchange India Limited (PXIL), and Hindustan Power Exchange (HPX) — serve primarily the Day Ahead Market (DAM) and Real-Time Market (RTM). IEX dominates both, handling roughly 3.9 per cent and 2.47 per cent of national generation respectively, amounting to just 7 GW and 4.8 GW in traded capacity. These figures do not reflect a truly liquid market. Further complicating matters, derivative contracts will be settled at prices derived from IEX and PXIL — despite PXIL's minimal volumes. In contrast to equities, where Sebi governs both segments, electricity markets have split jurisdiction: the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Cerc) oversees spot contracts, while Sebi regulates derivatives. Some of the large power generators individually control substantial capacity. As such, their ability to influence prices in illiquid markets is undeniable, especially since comprehensive trade disclosures aren't mandated under current protocols. Launch of electricity derivatives: Regulatory coordination is key With derivative contracts having debuted on MCX (July 10, 2025) and set to debut on NSE (July 14, 2025), regulatory silos present risks. While volume caps have been prescribed to prevent distortions, these are not fail-proof. Coordination between Sebi and Cerc must be seamless. Miscommunication or lag in action could have ripple effects — raising costs for electricity consumers and undermining market integrity. The JSG episode underscores the need for real-time surveillance, rapid response frameworks, and clear inter-regulatory protocols. If Sebi's mechanisms struggled with manipulations in tightly monitored equity markets, can the electricity sector — divided between two regulators — claim immunity? Time to ringfence and reform India's electricity derivative market is at a formative stage. This moment demands a forward-looking approach. Regulators must not only anticipate the nature of manipulative strategies but act decisively to prevent their execution. Surveillance infrastructure must be upgraded, communication lines clarified, and cross-market behaviour monitored in tandem. Regulatory failures in one segment must not cascade into others. It is imperative for Sebi and Cerc to insulate their constituencies, proactively guard consumer interests, and evolve with the market. While early action may have been missed, the JSG case offers a chance to set the ball rolling before it's too late.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store