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SEBI revises framework for green debt securities

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– Alignment with international standards and avoidance of greenwashing

– Payal Agarwal and Shreya Salampuria | corplaw@vinodkothari.com

Sustainability labeled bonds, more popularly known as GSS+ bonds, are looked upon as one of the primary means of raising funds towards sustainable development. The same has been discussed in Sustainable finance and GSS+ bonds: State of the Market and Developments. India is also not oblivious to the concept of GSS+ bonds, and companies in India have also been issuing such bonds, in one or more forms.

The issuance of green debt securities (“GDS”) in India was initially formalized through a circular issued  by SEBI in 2017 in this regard, later absorbed under the SEBI (Issue and Listing of Non-Convertible Securities) Regulations, 2021 (“ILNCS Regulations”) read with Chapter IX of the Operational Circular on the same. The regulatory framework for GDS in India has since been reviewed, and following a Consultation Paper on Green and Blue Bonds as a mode of Sustainable Finance (“Consultation Paper”) dated 4th August, 2022, SEBI, in its meeting dated 20th December, 2022 (“Board Meeting”) has approved amendments to the existing regulatory framework for GDS issuance. The press release of the Board Meeting reads as “in the backdrop of increasing interest in sustainable finance in India as well as around the globe, and with a view to align the extant framework for green debt securities with the updated  Green  Bond  Principles (GBP) recognised by IOSCO, SEBI undertook a review of the regulatory framework for green debt securities.”

Pursuant to the review of the regulatory framework for GDS, the following has been notified –

In this write-up, we intend to discuss the revised regulatory framework for GDS issuance in India.

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