The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) formed an 18-member working group to reconsider whether its startup listing platform fits research-stage and technology-intensive companies while preserving investor safeguards.
Announced Nov. 4, 2026, the group will assess the Innovators Growth Platform (IGP), which operates under the SEBI (Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2018. It will examine whether the framework is relevant and effective for research-stage, pre-revenue, intellectual-property-led, deep-tech and other innovation-focused enterprises.
The assignment spans the rules for companies and investors entering the IGP, including participation and investment conditions. Members will review public issues and offers for sale, pricing, allocations and minimum subscriptions. They will also consider disclosure, governance and trading duties after listing, along with the process for moving to the main board and comparisons with international frameworks.
The panel will be led by Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association chairman Srini Srinivasan and Accel Partners partner Prashanth Prakash. SEBI said members can consult start-ups, industry bodies and other stakeholders about sector needs and ways to broaden access while protecting investors and market integrity.
The regulator cited activity in deep-tech, biotechnology, semiconductors and space. It said businesses rooted in research may have funding needs and business models that differ from those of other companies.
A 2021 SEBI board memorandum traced the IGP’s origins to the Institutional Trading Platform (ITP), introduced in 2015 to support startup listings. The memo recorded weak market interest, including after SEBI revised the rules and renamed the platform in 2019.
In March 2021, SEBI’s board cut to one year from two the required holding period for eligible investors’ 25% of an issuer’s pre-issue capital. It also let issuers allocate up to 60% of an issue to eligible investors at their discretion before the issue opened.
The working group will submit its recommendations to SEBI for consideration. The announcement set no deadline.
