In December 2025, the market regulator Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) issued the SEBI (Foreign Venture Capital Investors (FVCI)) (Amendment) Regulations, 2025 for low risk foreign investors to participate in the Indian securities market with the introduction of a single window access.
Exam Hints:
- What? SEBI introduces FCVI regulations for low risk FI in the single window access
- SWAGAT-FI: Easier investment access, unified registration process, reduce documentation and compliance
- Simultaneous registration: FIs as FPI and FCVI
- Effective date: June 01, 2026
- Registration continuance period: Extended up to 10 years
- IFSC Alignment: Now include retail schemes with a Resident Indian sponsor, sponsor contributions at 10% of a fund’s corpus
Key Highlights
SWAGAT-FI: SEBI’s framework, Single Window Automatic & Generalised Access for Trusted Foreign Investors (SWAGAT-FI) was introduced with the following objectives:
- Provide easier investment access to objectively identified and verified low risk foreign investors.
- Enable a unified registration process across multiple investment routes for such entities.
- Reduce repeated compliance and documentation for such entities.
Coverage: The framework applies to entities such as sovereign wealth funds, central banks, multilateral bodies, government-owned funds, regulated public retail funds, insurance companies and pension funds.
Multi-route eligibility: Under the new structure, SWAGAT-FIs can register simultaneously as Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) and FVCIs without additional documentation.
- This dual route will allow them to invest in listed equities and debt as FPIs, and in unlisted companies, specified sectors and startups as FVCIs.
Effective Date: Sebi notified amendments to the FPI and FVCI regulations will be effective from June 01,2026.
Longer Tenure: SEBI has extended the registration continuance period, including fee payment and KYC (Know Your Customer) review to 10 years, up from the earlier 3–5 years, to reduce operational burden and promote long-term investor participation.
International Financial Service Centre (IFSC) Alignment: FPIs operating from IFSCs can now include retail schemes with a resident Indian sponsor or manager, aligning them with Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) that already have this provision.
- The regulator also addressed inconsistencies between SEBI and the IFSCA by capping sponsor contributions at 10% of a fund’s corpus or assets under management.
FPI Surge: As of June 30, 2025, India had 11,913 registered FPIs holding assets worth Rs 80.83 lakh crore, according to Sebi, which noted that SWAGAT-FIs make up over 70% of the FPI assets under custody.
About Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI):
The SEBI, a market regulator was constituted as a non-statutory body on April 12,1988 through a resolution of the Government of India (GoI) and was established as a statutory body in 1992.
Chairman – Tuhin Kanta Pandey
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
