India’s market regulator aims to cut the time foreign portfolio investors need to enter its securities markets to five business days, a target that extends beyond its current published fast-track rules.
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey announced the goal Oct. 28 at NDTV Profit Ignite 2026. “We aim to cut FPI onboarding from months to as little as five business days,” he said. The quoted starting point was not defined as a standard processing time.
SEBI’s Single Window Automatic and Generalised Access for Trusted Foreign Investors (SWAGAT-FI) framework took effect June 1, 2026. SEBI says eligible investors can use a common registration route with fewer duplicate document requests. The groups include government-related investors, certain regulated mutual funds and unit trusts, insurance companies investing their own funds, and pension funds. The framework’s circular does not set a five-day deadline for all FPI applications.
Pandey had discussed five-working-day onboarding tests at a Sept. 30 event, Business Standard and Business Today reported. Their accounts said the testing involved custodians and depositories and covered certain jurisdictions. Business Standard separately reported Oct. 28 that some FPIs had recently completed registration under SWAGAT-FI in five days.
Citi said Sept. 10 that its eFPI service could register investors in five business days. Its first phase covered regulated public funds from the United States, Ireland and Luxembourg; the company said expansion to Singapore, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom was planned.
In a 2025 board memorandum, SEBI described foreign investors as facing different investment routes, eligibility rules, procedures and compliance obligations. The regulator said its outreach had identified a need for simpler applications. In a June 8 address, SEBI said it was working with custodian banks and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to shorten registration and onboarding times.
Pandey announced no start date or additional eligibility criteria for a broader five-day process. The current published framework therefore remains limited to specified investor groups and contains no universal processing deadline.
