MUMBAI, October 7 — The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Wednesday issued a comprehensive operational circular expanding the optional same-day 'T+0' settlement cycle across the top 500 listed equities by market capitalization on both the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and National Stock Exchange (NSE).
Under the operationalized clearing framework, the optional T+0 mechanism operates concurrently alongside the existing baseline T+1 rolling settlement regime. For transactions matched between 9:15 AM and 1:30 PM under the T+0 window, clearing corporations will execute instantaneous delivery-versus-payment (DvP) netting, crediting cleared shares directly to client demat accounts and liquid funds to bank accounts by 4:30 PM on the same trading day.
The capital markets regulator highlighted that broad-basing same-day settlement solidifies India's global leadership as one of the most operationally advanced securities clearing regimes worldwide. The compressed settlement timeframe dismantles counterparty credit risks, unlocks systemic margin capital for retail market participants, and eliminates overnight market clearing friction across cash equity market segments.
The evolution of equity settlement cycles (from physical delivery to T+5, T+3, T+2, T+1, and T+0), the role of clearing corporations (NCL and ICCL), and depository architecture under the Depositories Act 1996 constitute high-frequency topics in SEBI Grade A, RBI Grade B, and UPSC Civil Services (GS-III: Capital Markets). Aspirants should note that India completed the transition to a mandatory T+1 settlement cycle in January 2023, paving the way for gradual introduction of real-time instantaneous settlement models.