Page 18 - Banking Finance February 2026

ROUNDUP

additional activities that are regulated liberations on the proposal, with early Sebi extends timeline for
by other financial sector authorities, estimates suggesting an outlay of
subject to compliance with applicable around Rs. 12,000 crore. The objective additional incentive struc-
norms. Brokers have also been allowed is to build an annual container manu- ture for mutual fund dis-
to provide incidental investment advice facturing capacity of approximately
to their broking clients, reflecting the 600,000 units, reducing India's depen- tributors
growing convergence between execu- dence on imports and improving sup- The Securities and Exchange Board of
tion and advisory services. ply-chain resilience. India (Sebi) has extended the imple-
mentation deadline for the additional
The regulations further allow stock Industry stakeholders have long high- incentive structure for mutual fund dis-
brokers to act as underwriters using lighted the strategic importance of tributors (MFDs) to March 1, following
their own net worth or funds, though container manufacturing, particularly feedback from industry participants
this is subject to specific conditions and after global supply disruptions exposed citing operational challenges. The
safeguards. Sebi has sought to balance vulnerabilities in container availability. framework was earlier scheduled to
expanded business flexibility with regu- A domestic manufacturing base could come into effect from February 1,
latory oversight to protect market in- lower logistics costs, support export 2026.
tegrity. growth and create employment oppor-
The incentive structure is aimed at
Notably, the final notification does not tunities in allied sectors such as steel encouraging distributors to onboard
include a formal definition of algorith- and fabrication. new individual investors from B-30 cit-
mic trading, which had been proposed While the ministry has not officially ies-locations beyond the top 30 cities-
earlier in the consultation paper. Mar- commented, the proposed scheme and new women investors from any
ket participants expect Sebi to address aligns with the government's broader city. Under the revised framework,
algorithmic trading separately through manufacturing and Atmanirbhar asset management companies will pay
future guidelines. The updated regula- Bharat agenda, as well as efforts to distributors 1 per cent of the first
tions are intended to simplify lan- position India as a competitive mari- lump-sum investment or first-year SIP
guage, remove redundancies and pro- time and logistics hub in the region. amount, capped at Rs. 2,000, provided
vide greater clarity for compliance by
brokers.
E-way bill generation hits record high of 138.39 mil-

Centre considers scheme lion in December
to boost domestic ship- India's goods movement reached a new high in December, with e-way bill
generation rising 23.6 per cent year-on-year to 138.39 million, according
ping container manufac- to data released by the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN). The figure
turing surpassed the previous record of 132 million recorded in September, under-
scoring strong momentum in economic activity during the festive and year-
The central government is working on
end period.
a financial assistance scheme to pro-
mote domestic manufacturing of ship- In November, e-way bill generation had grown at a relatively moderate pace
ping containers as part of its broader of 6.5 per cent to 129.8 million. The sharp acceleration in December re-
push to strengthen India's maritime and flects increased trade volumes, improved compliance, and higher participa-
logistics capabilities, according to offi- tion from businesses across sectors. An e-way bill is a mandatory electronic
cials and industry executives familiar document under the GST regime for the movement of goods valued above
with the discussions. The initiative is Rs. 50,000 and enables real-time tracking of consignments across states.
expected to support both the setting up Experts attributed the surge partly to GST 2.0 rate rationalisation, which
of new production lines and the expan- reduced tax incidence on several goods, encouraging higher formal trade.
sion of existing manufacturing facilities. The rise has also been supported by an increase in GST registrations follow-
The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and ing the rollout of a fast-track registration scheme, indicating growing
formalisation of businesses and supply chains.
Waterways has begun preliminary de-

16 | 2026 | FEBRUARY | BANKING FINANCE