(Reuters) – India’s markets regulator on Tuesday expanded the scope of optional same-day settlement cycle, increasing the number of eligible stocks and setting a clear implementation timeline.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) announced that effective Jan.
31, 2025, the optional same-day or T+0 settlement cycle will be available for the top 500 stocks by market capitalization as of Dec. 31, 2024.
SEBI will implement this change gradually, starting with the bottom 100 companies and adding the next 100 each month until all 500 are available for T+0 trading.
This expansion adds to the 25 stocks already trading in the T+0 cycle since March, when SEBI launched a beta version with limited broker participation.
The regulator had earlier planned the full launch of same day settlement before the end of fiscal year 2024 but deferred its implementation after push back from foreign investors who said it would be costly for them and could fragment the market.
SEBI stated that all stock brokers can now participate in the optional T+0 settlement cycle and may charge different brokerage fees for T+0 and T+1 cycles.
The regulator also directed market infrastructure institutions, including stock exchanges, to implement systems enabling seamless participation of institutional investors in same-day settlement.
It instructed stock exchanges to establish a T+0 block deal window for the morning session from 8:45 am to 9:00 am IST, supplementing the existing morning and afternoon windows for T+1 settlement.
(Reporting by Nishit Navin in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)
