The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) issued a Master Circular for ESG Rating Providers (ERPs) on 11 July 2025, consolidating the regulatory framework governing how companies listed on Indian exchanges are assessed for environmental, social, and governance performance. The circular consolidates a mandatory suite of six rating products that all registered ERPs must offer.
The required products are an ESG rating, a transition score and a combined score, together with 'core' versions of each based on the assured BRSR Core parameters. The transition score — also referred to as a Parivartan score — is designed to measure a company's trajectory towards net-zero emissions rather than simply its current ESG standing.
CORE AND TRANSITION RATINGS
Rather than comparing companies against a static benchmark, the score tracks the pace and credibility of a firm's decarbonisation plans, its capital allocation towards cleaner technologies, and its concrete plans and targets for the transition.
For the core ESG rating in particular, ERPs must rely solely on data that has received third-party assurance — and the core products are offered where the rated company has published a BRSR Core.
VALUE CHAIN DISCLOSURE FOR TOP 250 FIRMS
Separately, under SEBI's Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR) framework, the top 250 listed entities are required to make value-chain ESG disclosures on a voluntary basis from 2025-26.
SEBI defines value-chain partners as those each accounting for 2% or more of purchases or sales by value, and allows companies to limit disclosure to partners that collectively represent 75% of purchases or sales.
The July 2025 Master Circular consolidates the framework into a single reference document for the industry.