Sebi eases rules on use of depository investor protection fund income

SEBI has revised rules governing the Investor Protection Fund maintained by depositories, allowing up to 5% of annual interest or income from the fund's investments to be used for operating expenses such as dedicated staff, audit fees, taxes, and charity commissioner fees. Any expense above the 5% cap must be borne by the depository, and unused amounts must be added back to the fund corpus. Market infrastructure institutions have been asked to implement the revised framework, update bye-laws where required, and notify market participants.