Capital markets regulator Sebi on Wednesday proposed relaxing rules for certain foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) from enhanced disclosure requirements.

In its consultation paper, the regulator suggested exempting category I university funds and university-related endowments FPI that meet specific criteria from enhanced disclosure requirements.

Additionally, it proposed exempting funds with concentrated holdings in entities without a promoter group, where there is no risk of breaching Minimum Public Shareholding (MPS) requirements, from enhanced reporting obligations.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has sought comments till March 8 from the public on the proposals.

This came after Sebi, in August last year, mandated FPIs to disclose detailed information about entities holding any ownership, economic interest, or control in them, without any threshold.

In its consultation paper, Sebi has recommended to exempt university funds and university-related endowments, registered as category I FPI from the disclosure requirements, subject to certain conditions.

This condition included the university should be listed in the top 200 ranking as per the latest available QS World University Rankings.

Such funds' India equity AUM should be less than 25 per cent of its global AUM, its global AUM should not be over Rs 10,000 crore and should have filed appropriate returns to the respective tax authorities in their home jurisdiction to evidence that the entity is like a non-profit organisation and is exempt from tax.

Proposing exemption in case of companies with no identified promoter and low FPI holdings, Sebi said that in case of listed companies without any identified promoter, the entire shareholding is classified as "public" and there is no risk of circumvention of MPS requirements.

To that extent, there is room for relaxing the additional disclosure requirements for foreign portfolio investors holding concentrated positions in such companies, Sebi said.