Mumbai, June 19 -- The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Friday cleared a clutch of reforms, reinstating open market share buybacks, accelerating alternative investment fund (AIF) launches, and enabling pooled borrowing by municipalities, to improve ease of doing business and expand capital market depth.

At its board meeting, Sebi reintroduced open market share buybacks, barely a year after they were barred due to differential tax treatment of buybacks compared with ordinary share sales.

The regulator had earlier expressed concerns that open-market buybacks led to uneven shareholder participation and taxation framework. However, tax changes introduced in 2024 aligned the treatment of buyback proceeds with capital gains ta...