New Delhi, June 29 -- The Zerodha group, which operates one of the country's leading brokerages, has applied for a merchant banking licence.
Zerodha Corporate Advisors Pvt Ltd applied for the merchant banking licence on April 27 this year, and its application is currently pending review, VCCircle has learnt.
In response to a query from VCCircle, a Zerodha spokesperson said, "We have filed an application for the merchant banking (Category-I) licence with SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India). We'll be able to share more about our business plans once we receive the licence."
A Category-I merchant banker can undertake any activity related to a public issue, from preparing the prospectus and determining the financial structure to tying up with financiers, final allotment and refund of subscriptions. They can also act as advisers, consultants, managers, underwriters and portfolio managers.
Other entities that have applied for a merchant banking licence this year include Haitong Securities India Pvt Ltd, Societe Generale Securities India Pvt Ltd, InCred Capital Financial Services Ltd, Capri Global Capital Markets Pvt Ltd, Neo Wealth Management Pvt Ltd, and Neomile Capital Advisors Pvt Ltd.
The market regulator has, over the past year, revised norms for merchant bankers, particularly with regard to the activities they can undertake.
In December 2025, SEBI explicitly permitted merchant bankers to expand the scope of activities they could undertake through a separate business unit (SBU). They can now also undertake activities that fall under the purview of other regulators such as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), as well as fee-based, non-fund-based financial services activities that are not regulated by any other entity.
Merchant bankers were initially given time until July 3 this year to make this transition. Earlier this month, the market regulator extended the deadline to December 31.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from VC Circle.