SEBI's 48 Significant Indices put Nifty 50 and Sensex under formal regulation
Yobee Team
What the 5 May circular does
SEBI's circular dated 5 May 2026 (HO/47/17/12(8)2025-MRD-POD2) notifies the first official list of 48 'Significant Indices' under the SEBI (Index Providers) Regulations, 2024. The threshold is daily average cumulative AUM of mutual fund schemes tracking the benchmark exceeding Rs 20,000 crore for each of the previous six months, measured on half-year periods ending 30 June and 31 December. The first list draws on AUM data for 1 July 2025 to 31 December 2025.
The 48 indices sit with three providers.
| Provider | Indices |
|---|---|
| NSE Indices | 31 |
| BSE Index Services | 9 |
| CRISIL | 8 |
| Total | 48 |
The deadlines on the calendar:
- Registration application to SEBI under Regulation 4 of the IP Regulations: by 5 November 2026, six months from the circular date.
- Structural separation of departmental index operations into a separately registered legal entity: by 5 May 2028, two years from the circular date.
- Half-yearly review of the list: based on AUM data ending 30 June and 31 December each year.
- Removal of an index from the list: only after AUM falls below Rs 20,000 crore for six consecutive half-yearly reviews, that is, three continuous years.
Existing providers may continue administering Significant Indices during the registration window provided the application is filed within the six-month period.
Which benchmarks are now in scope
The 48 indices span the equity, debt and hybrid universe most actively benchmarked by mutual fund schemes. The spread:
| Type | Examples |
|---|---|
| Headline equity | Nifty 50, BSE Sensex |
| Broad market and size | Nifty 500, Nifty Next 50, BSE 100, Nifty Midcap 150, Nifty Smallcap 250 |
| Sectors and themes | Nifty Bank, Nifty Financial Services, Nifty CPSE, BSE Healthcare, BSE India Infrastructure |
| Debt | CRISIL Liquid Overnight, CRISIL Money Market A-I, Nifty 1D Rate, Nifty Composite Debt, Nifty BHARAT Bond – April 2030 |
| Hybrid and strategy | CRISIL Hybrid 35+65 – Aggressive, Nifty 50 Hybrid Composite Debt 50:50, Nifty Equity Savings, Nifty 50 Arbitrage |
Indices already notified by RBI as 'Significant Benchmarks' or 'Authorised Benchmarks' under Section 45W of the RBI Act are excluded from the IP Regulations even while remaining on the SEBI list.
What it changes for ETF, MF and derivatives investors
Three substantive changes follow once providers are registered.
Methodology disclosure. Data input rules, calculation steps and constituent change information have to be published, so two schemes claiming to track the same benchmark can be compared against a publicly disclosed methodology rather than provider policy.
Grievance redressal under Regulation 23. Subscribers to a Significant Index get a statutory route to raise complaints about its administration. Until now, no such mechanism existed for index decisions.
Structural separation. Where index operations sit inside a SEBI-registered entity as a departmental function, they must be carved out into a separately registered legal entity by 5 May 2028. The intent is to separate index administration from the provider's other regulated businesses.
The combined effect is that the benchmarks underpinning ETFs, index funds and most derivatives contracts now sit on a regulated administration framework, with the provider answerable to investors on the same statutory terms.
Practical uses for advisors and product teams
Three uses worth building into existing workflows.
- Scheme comparison. Two schemes claiming outperformance against the same Significant Index can be assessed against a publicly disclosed methodology, with constituent changes and index rules on record.
- Product narrative. A new index fund or ETF launched on one of the 48 indices can lean on the regulated-benchmark framing (methodology disclosure, statutory grievance route, oversight committee) in product documents and investor communication.
- Reference-data hygiene. Constituent changes, methodology updates and provider-notified events on the 48 indices become a scheduled input to portfolio analytics, factsheets and PMS reporting systems.
Yobee's Publisher tracks the 48 Significant Indices and refreshes the list with each SEBI half-yearly review, so the current benchmark, methodology and constituent set are at hand when an advisor compares schemes or a product team picks a reference for a new launch.
Context, and what's next
India's passive AUM has grown from Rs 1.63 lakh crore in 2020 to roughly Rs 15 lakh crore in 2026, with passive folios crossing 5 crore. Passive funds now account for about 18% of total mutual fund industry AUM, up from 12% at the end of 2021. ETF and index fund AUM rose 27% in 2025 alone, from Rs 11.11 lakh crore in December 2024 to Rs 14.07 lakh crore in November 2025.
The next item on the regulatory calendar is the half-yearly review on AUM data ending 30 June 2026, which will determine the next set of additions to the list. Registration applications from NSE Indices, BSE Index Services and CRISIL are due by 5 November 2026, with departmental carve-outs due by 5 May 2028.