Start-up founders get relief on Esops holding

In a move that will offer a major relief to the start-ups founders planning public listing, capital market regulator Sebi has allowed them to hold on to their employees stock ownership plan (Esops) provided they were issued one year before the public issue filing.

The regulator has also created a special category for foreign funds to invest in government securities called GS-FPIs and aligned their KYC norms with that of the Reserve Bank.