Rajveer-code/IndiaFinBench huggingface dataset:
Source: SEBI

Passage A:
Regulation 16(1)(c) (pre-2024): Category I Alternative Investment Funds shall not borrow funds directly or indirectly or engage in any leverage except for meeting temporary funding requirements for not more than thirty days, on not more than four occasions in a year and not more than ten percent of the investable funds.

Passage B:
Regulation 16(1)(c) (as substituted w.e.f. 07-08-2024): Category I Alternative Investment Funds shall not borrow funds directly or indirectly or engage in any leverage for the purpose of making investments or otherwise, except for borrowing funds to meet temporary funding requirements and day-to-day operational requirements for not more than thirty days, on not more than four occasions in a year and not more than ten percent of the investable funds.

Question: Do the pre-2024 and post-2024 versions of Regulation 16(1)(c) permit the same scope of borrowing by Category I AIFs?
Answer: No
Source: SEBI

Passage A:
No asset management company shall deal in securities through any broker associated with the sponsor or a firm which is an associate of a sponsor beyond 5% of the daily gross business of the mutual fund.

Passage B:
An asset management company shall not through any broker associated with the sponsor, purchase or sell securities, which is average of 5 per cent or more of the aggregate purchases and sale of securities made by the mutual fund in all its schemes: Provided further that the aforesaid limit of 5 per cent shall apply for a block of any three months.

Question: Do Passage A and Passage B impose the same percentage limit on transactions through sponsor-associated brokers, and is the limit measured over the same time period?
Answer: No
Source: SEBI

Passage A:
Regulation 3(2): No acquirer who together with persons acting in concert holds 25% or more but less than the maximum permissible non-public shareholding shall acquire within any financial year additional shares or voting rights entitling them to exercise more than five per cent of the voting rights, unless an open offer is made.

Passage B:
Regulation 3(2) proviso (inserted by Amendment Regulations, 2020, w.e.f. 16-06-2020): Provided that the acquisition beyond five per cent but upto ten per cent of the voting rights in the target company shall be permitted for the financial year 2020-21 only in respect of acquisition by a promoter pursuant to preferential issue of equity shares by the target company.

Question: Do the main provision and the 2020 proviso of Regulation 3(2) of SEBI Takeovers Regulations 2011 contradict each other about the annual creep acquisition limit?
Answer: No
Source: RBI

List of circulars superseded: (1) FMRD.FMID No.14/11.01.007/2016-17 dated June 01, 2017; (2) dated November 29, 2018; (3) dated April 26, 2019; (4) dated March 27, 2020; (5) dated February 18, 2026. The Master Direction was issued March 27, 2026.

Question: How many years elapsed between the issuance of the first LEI circular (June 01, 2017) and its supersession by the Master Direction on Unique Identifiers (March 27, 2026)?
Answer: Approximately 8 years and 10 months elapsed between June 1, 2017 and March 27, 2026.
Source: SEBI

Regulation 5(l) (inserted by SEBI (CRA) (Amendment) Regulations, 2018, w.e.f. 30-05-2018): the promoter of the credit rating agency, in terms of regulation 4, has a minimum shareholding of 26% in the credit rating agency.

Question: When was the 26% minimum promoter shareholding requirement for credit rating agencies introduced under SEBI (CRA) Regulations, 1999?
Answer: The requirement for a minimum promoter shareholding of 26% in a credit rating agency was introduced by the SEBI (Credit Rating Agencies) (Amendment) Regulations, 2018, with effect from 30 May 2018. Prior to this amendment, the SEBI (CRA) Regulations, 1999 did not prescribe any minimum shareholding requirement for promoters. The 2018 amendment inserted Regulation 5(l) (eligibility criterion) and Regulation 9(e) (ongoing condition of certificate) to impose this requirement.
Source: SEBI

Regulation 10(c): the Alternative Investment Fund shall not accept from an investor, an investment of value less than one crore rupees: Provided that in case of investors who are employees or directors of the Alternative Investment Fund or employees or directors of the Manager, the minimum value of investment shall be twenty five lakh rupees: Provided further that this clause shall not apply to an accredited investor.

Question: What is the minimum investment that an investor must make in an Alternative Investment Fund scheme under SEBI AIF Regulations, 2012? Are there any exceptions to this minimum?
Answer: Under Regulation 10(c), the minimum investment by any investor in an AIF scheme is Rs one crore. Two exceptions apply: (1) employees or directors of the AIF, or employees or directors of the Manager, have a reduced minimum of Rs twenty-five lakh; (2) the minimum investment requirement does not apply at all to accredited investors.
Source: SEBI

Regulation 10 (original, 2013): The certificate of registration granted under regulation 9 shall be valid for a period of five years from the date of its issue. [Amended by SEBI (Change in Conditions of Registration of Certain Intermediaries) (Amendment) Regulations, 2016, w.e.f. 08-12-2016]: The certificate of registration granted under regulation 9 shall be valid till it is suspended or cancelled by the Board.

Question: What was the validity period of an investment adviser's certificate of registration under the original SEBI (Investment Advisers) Regulations, 2013, and when was it changed to perpetual validity?
Answer: Under the original 2013 regulations, a certificate of registration was valid for a period of five years from the date of its issue and required renewal thereafter. This was changed to perpetual validity (valid till suspended or cancelled by the Board) by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Change in Conditions of Registration of Certain Intermediaries) (Amendment) Regulations, 2016, which came into force on 8 December 2016.
Source: SEBI

Regulation 5(c) (original): the applicant has a minimum net worth of rupees five crores. [Substituted by SEBI (CRA) (Amendment) Regulations, 2018, w.e.f. 30-05-2018]: the applicant has a minimum net worth of rupees twenty five crore.

Question: When was the minimum net worth requirement for credit rating agency applicants under SEBI (CRA) Regulations, 1999 raised, and by how much was it increased?
Answer: The minimum net worth requirement was raised by the SEBI (Credit Rating Agencies) (Amendment) Regulations, 2018, with effect from 30 May 2018. The original 1999 regulations set a minimum of Rs five crore. The 2018 amendment increased this to Rs twenty-five crore — a five-fold increase of Rs twenty crore.
Source: SEBI

Regulation 10(d): the Manager or Sponsor shall have a continuing interest in the Alternative Investment Fund of not less than two and half percent of the corpus or five crore rupees, whichever is lower, in the form of investment in the Alternative Investment Fund and such interest shall not be through the waiver of management fees: Provided that for Category III Alternative Investment Fund, the continuing interest shall be not less than five percent of the corpus or ten crore rupees, whichever is lower.

Question: What continuing interest is the Manager or Sponsor of an Alternative Investment Fund required to maintain under SEBI AIF Regulations, 2012? Does the requirement differ between Category I/II and Category III funds?
Answer: Under Regulation 10(d), the Manager or Sponsor must maintain a continuing interest of not less than 2.5% of the corpus or Rs 5 crore, whichever is lower, in the form of investment in the AIF (not via waiver of management fees). For Category III AIFs, the threshold is higher: not less than 5% of the corpus or Rs 10 crore, whichever is lower.
Source: SEBI

The original Seventh Schedule of SEBI (Mutual Funds) Regulations, 1996 included Clause 5: 'The initial issue expenses in respect of any scheme may not exceed six per cent of the funds raised under that scheme.' This clause was omitted by the SEBI (Mutual Funds) (Amendment) Regulations, 2008, w.e.f. 16-4-2008.

Question: What was the original cap on initial issue expenses for a mutual fund scheme under the Seventh Schedule, and when was this provision omitted?
Answer: Six per cent of funds raised; omitted by the 2008 amendment w.e.f. 16-4-2008
Source: SEBI

Regulation 31A (Regulatory Sandbox) was inserted by the SEBI (Regulatory Sandbox) (Amendment) Regulations, 2020, w.e.f. 17-04-2020. The regulation allows SEBI to exempt any person from the operation of all or any provisions of SEBI Takeovers Regulations for up to twelve months, for furthering innovation relating to testing new products, processes, services, business models in a live regulatory sandbox environment.

Question: When was the regulatory sandbox exemption introduced into SEBI Takeovers Regulations 2011, and what is the maximum duration for which SEBI can grant such an exemption?
Answer: The regulatory sandbox provision (Regulation 31A) was inserted by the SEBI (Regulatory Sandbox) (Amendment) Regulations, 2020, effective April 17, 2020. SEBI can grant exemptions from any provisions of the Takeovers Regulations for a period not exceeding 12 months, subject to such conditions as SEBI deems appropriate, to enable testing of new products, processes, services, or business models in a live environment.
Source: SEBI

Regulation 15(1): An investment adviser shall act in a fiduciary capacity towards its clients and shall disclose all conflicts of interests as and when they arise.

Question: What is the general responsibility of an investment adviser towards its clients under SEBI IA Regulations, 2013?
Answer: Under Regulation 15(1), an investment adviser shall act in a fiduciary capacity towards its clients and shall disclose all conflicts of interests as and when they arise.
Source: SEBI

Regulation 3(7): Without prejudice to the powers of the Board to take any action under the Act or regulations made thereunder, the certificate of registration shall be valid till the Alternative Investment Fund is wound up.

Question: For how long is a certificate of registration granted to an Alternative Investment Fund under SEBI (AIF) Regulations, 2012 valid?
Answer: Under Regulation 3(7), the certificate of registration is valid until the Alternative Investment Fund is wound up. The certificate does not have a fixed time-bound expiry — it remains in force for the entire operational life of the AIF.
Source: SEBI

Regulation 6A was inserted by the SEBI (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2016, w.e.f. 25-05-2016. Regulation 6B was inserted by the SEBI (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2018, w.e.f. 11-09-2018.

Question: When did SEBI introduce separate prohibitions on wilful defaulters and fugitive economic offenders making open offers under the Takeovers Regulations, and what triggered these additions?
Answer: The prohibition on wilful defaulters (Regulation 6A) was inserted by the Second Amendment Regulations, 2016, effective May 25, 2016, following Reserve Bank of India guidelines on wilful defaulters. The prohibition on fugitive economic offenders (Regulation 6B) was inserted by the Second Amendment Regulations, 2018, effective September 11, 2018, following the enactment of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018.
Source: SEBI

The trustee shall ensure that the investment manager convenes meetings of unit holders not less than once every year and the period between such meetings shall not exceed fifteen months.

Question: Under SEBI (Infrastructure Investment Trusts) Regulations 2014, what is the maximum permissible interval between two consecutive unit holders meetings?
Answer: Fifteen months
Source: SEBI

Passage A:
Regulation 22(1): The acquirer shall not complete the acquisition of shares or voting rights in, or control over, the target company, whether by way of subscription to shares or a purchase of shares attracting the obligation to make an open offer, until the expiry of the offer period.

Passage B:
Regulation 22(2): Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-regulation (1), subject to the acquirer depositing in the escrow account cash of an amount equal to the entire consideration payable under the open offer assuming full acceptance, the parties may after the expiry of twenty-one working days from the date of detailed public statement, act upon the agreement and the acquirer may complete the acquisition.

Question: Do Regulation 22(1) and Regulation 22(2) contradict each other about when an acquirer can complete the underlying acquisition transaction?
Answer: No
Source: SEBI

Regulation 6(2): An acquirer and persons acting in concert who have made a public announcement under this regulation to acquire shares of a target company shall not be entitled to acquire any shares of the target company for a period of six months after completion of the open offer except pursuant to another voluntary open offer.

Question: Under Regulation 6(2), after completing a voluntary open offer, for how long is the acquirer prohibited from acquiring further shares of the target company (other than through another voluntary open offer)?
Answer: Six months after completion of the open offer.
Source: SEBI

Passage A:
A recognised stock exchange shall not be eligible for recognition if any person, individually or together with persons acting in concert with such person, acquires or holds or controls more than five per cent of the paid-up equity share capital of the recognised stock exchange without prior written approval of the Board. Provided that the limit of five per cent shall be fifteen per cent in the case of stock exchanges, depositories, banking companies, insurance companies, and public financial institutions.

Passage B:
A depository shall not be eligible to carry on its activities as a depository if any person, individually or together with persons acting in concert, holds or acquires more than five per cent of the paid-up equity share capital of such depository, unless the prior approval of the Board has been obtained for the same.

Question: Do the two passages impose different shareholding thresholds triggering mandatory Board approval for acquisitions in recognised stock exchanges versus depositories?
Answer: No
Source: SEBI

Regulation 9(2): For purposes of payment by way of listed shares, the shares sought to be issued or exchanged shall conform to the following: (a) listed and frequently traded; (b) listed for at least two years preceding the date of public announcement; (c) issuer has redressed at least 95% of complaints received from investors in the preceding calendar quarter; (d) issuer has been in material compliance with listing regulations for at least two years immediately preceding the date of public announcement; (e) impact of auditors' qualifications does not exceed 5% of net profit or loss after tax for three immediately preceding financial years; (f) SEBI has not issued directions against the issuer restricting capital market access.

Question: What conditions must listed shares offered as non-cash consideration in an open offer satisfy under Regulation 9(2) of SEBI Takeovers Regulations 2011?
Answer: The shares must: (a) be listed and frequently traded; (b) have been listed for at least 2 years before the date of public announcement; (c) the issuer must have redressed at least 95% of investor complaints in the preceding calendar quarter; (d) the issuer must have materially complied with listing regulations for at least 2 years preceding the public announcement; (e) impact of auditors' qualifications must not exceed 5% of net profit or loss after tax for three preceding financial years; and (f) SEBI must not have issued any direction restricting the issuer's access to capital markets or issuance of fresh shares.
Source: SEBI

Seventh Schedule — Restrictions on Investments. 8. Pending deployment of funds of a scheme in terms of investment objectives of the scheme, a mutual fund may invest them in short term deposits of schedule commercial banks, subject to such Guidelines as may be specified by the Board.

Question: Where may a mutual fund temporarily invest the funds of a scheme pending their deployment in accordance with the scheme's investment objectives?
Answer: In short term deposits of scheduled commercial banks
Source: RBI

Illustration 3: Net profit (PAT) for FY 20X1-X2 (A): 1500. Net NPAs as on March 31, 20X2 (B): 300. Adjusted PAT, i.e., (C) = (A) - 50% of (B): 1,350. Tier 1 capital ratio as on March 31, 20X1 (D): 24.36%. The CET1 ratio falls in bucket B10. 75% of PAT (E): 1,125. Maximum payable as per Table (100% of 1,350) (F): 1,350. Maximum Eligible Dividend (i.e., G = Lower of E or F): 1,125. Interim dividend paid for FY 20X1-20X2 (H): 500. As the bank has already paid interim dividend of ₹500 crore, the final dividend shall not be more than (G) - (H).

Question: In Illustration 3, a Small Finance Bank has Maximum Eligible Dividend of ₹1,125 crore and has already paid an interim dividend of ₹500 crore. What is the maximum permissible final dividend?
Answer: ₹625 crore. Calculation: Maximum Eligible Dividend (₹1,125 crore) minus interim dividend already paid (₹500 crore) = ₹625 crore.
Source: SEBI

Passage A:
Regulation 2(h) (pre-2021): 'credit rating agency' means a body corporate which is engaged in, or proposes to be engaged in, the business of rating of securities offered by way of public or rights issue.

Passage B:
Regulation 2(h) (as amended w.e.f. 03-08-2021): 'credit rating agency' means a body corporate which is engaged in, or proposes to be engaged in, the business of rating of securities that are listed or proposed to be listed on a stock exchange recognized by the Board.

Question: Do the original and 2021-amended definitions of 'credit rating agency' under Regulation 2(h) cover the same scope of rating activity?
Answer: No
Source: SEBI

Regulation 27(1): No credit rating agency shall rate a security issued by an entity which is — (a) a borrower of its promoter; or (b) a subsidiary of its promoter; or (c) an associate of its promoter, if there are common Chairman, Directors between credit rating agency and these entities, or common employees, or common Chairman, Directors, Employees on the rating committee. (2) No credit rating agency shall rate a security issued by its associate or subsidiary, if the credit rating agency or its rating committee has a Chairman, director or employee who is also a Chairman, director or employee of any such entity.

Question: What conflict-of-interest restrictions apply to the rating of securities of promoter-connected entities under SEBI (CRA) Regulations, 1999?
Answer: Under Regulation 27(1), a CRA shall not rate securities of: (a) a borrower of its promoter; (b) a subsidiary of its promoter; or (c) an associate of its promoter — if there are common Chairmen, directors, or employees between the CRA and such entities, or common persons on the rating committee. Under Regulation 27(2), a CRA shall also not rate securities of its own associate or subsidiary if the CRA or its rating committee shares a Chairman, director, or employee with such entities.
Source: SEBI

"bidding period" means the period within which shareholders may tender their shares in acceptance of the offer for delisting of equity shares of the company made under these regulations.

Question: What is the 'bidding period' as defined in SEBI (Delisting of Equity Shares) Regulations, 2021?
Answer: The period within which shareholders may tender their shares in acceptance of the offer for delisting of equity shares of the company.
Source: RBI

The Stocks will be issued for a minimum amount of Rs. 10,000/- (nominal) and in multiples of Rs. 10,000/- thereafter.

Question: What is the minimum nominal amount for which Government of India dated securities are issued in the auction, and in what multiples are they issued thereafter?
Answer: Minimum ₹10,000 (nominal), in multiples of ₹10,000 thereafter.
Source: SEBI

Eligibility criteria for appointment of asset management company. 21. (1)(f) the asset management company has a networth of not less than rupees fifty crore deployed in assets as may be specified by the Board: Provided that where the sponsor does not fulfil the requirements provided in part (i) to (v) of the Explanation to clause (a) of regulation 7 at the time of making application, the asset management company shall be required to have a networth of not less than rupees one hundred crore.

Question: What is the standard minimum networth requirement for an AMC under SEBI (Mutual Funds) Regulations, 1996?
Answer: Not less than rupees fifty crore
Source: RBI

Section A of the Directions on implementation of Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) shall come into force with immediate effect. Section B of the Directions on implementation of Unique Transaction Identifier (UTI) shall come into effect from January 01, 2027. The Master Direction was issued on March 27, 2026.

Question: Which was implemented first under the RBI Master Direction on Unique Identifiers in Financial Markets 2026 — the LEI framework or the UTI framework?
Answer: The LEI framework (Section A) was implemented first, coming into force with immediate effect from March 27, 2026. The UTI framework (Section B) comes into effect later, on January 01, 2027.
Source: SEBI

The SEBI LODR Regulations, 2015 were published on 2 September 2015. The provision regarding 'fugitive economic offender' was inserted by the SEBI (LODR) (Sixth Amendment) Regulations, 2018, w.e.f. 16.11.2018, following the enactment of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018. Prior to November 2018, the LODR Regulations did not contain any reference to fugitive economic offenders.

Question: In which year was the concept of 'fugitive economic offender' first incorporated into the SEBI LODR Regulations 2015?
Answer: 2018, effective from 16 November 2018
Source: SEBI

An applicant who withdraws an application under sub-regulation (1) shall not be permitted to make another application in respect of the same default: Provided that in a case where an application was earlier rejected by the Board on the ground that the applicant did not remit the settlement amount within the period specified, such an application may be considered subject to an increase of atleast fifty percent over the settlement amount determined in accordance with Schedule-II of these Regulations.

Question: Under SEBI Settlement Proceedings Regulations 2018, by what minimum percentage must the settlement amount be increased if an applicant re-applies after rejection due to non-payment of the earlier determined settlement amount?
Answer: At least fifty percent
Source: SEBI

Regulation 4: Irrespective of acquisition or holding of shares or voting rights in a target company, no acquirer shall acquire, directly or indirectly, control over such target company unless the acquirer makes a public announcement of an open offer for acquiring shares of such target company in accordance with these regulations.

Question: Can an acquirer acquire control over a target company without making a public announcement of an open offer, even if they do not acquire any new shares?
Answer: No. Regulation 4 states that irrespective of acquisition or holding of shares or voting rights, no acquirer shall acquire control over a target company without making a public announcement of an open offer.