Integrated disclosure - Streamlining the disclosure norms in the Indian securities market

An increasing focus on improved disclosures has been the regulatory thrust of securities regulations since the great crash of 1929. India gave up the merit based system of a controller regulating the issue of securities in favour of the disclosure based regulatory philosophy in 1988. Since then an increasing focus on public disclosure has been a priority with SEBI, the Indian regulator. However, in an attempt to improve the quality of disclosure, a necessary waste product has developed – that of the quantity of disclosure. Today with new regulations being added by the legislature, SEBI and stock exchanges, we see an excessive duplication of disclosure particularly of listed companies. There are several areas where net disclosure of information can be maintained even while reducing the quantity of information brought out. This paper examines some areas which require reduction of information flow because the information is already out in the public domain. The paper advocates a transition to a company registration with greater emphasis on continuous disclosures and a relatively easy track for seasoned companies to raise capital without an extensive prospectus centered regulations.