New Delhi, March 12 -- The market regulator's recent guidelines outlining tougher disclosure requirements for related-party transactions has sparked significant apprehension about increased compliance burdens and potential operational delays.

The directive, issued on 14 February, aims to enhance transparency and fairness in the related-party transaction approval processes, mandating stringent disclosure and certification requirements.

Even M. Damodaran, former chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Board of India, has criticized the directive, calling it an "elaborate document' with inconsistencies. "It has so many things that if you take them seriously, you will have a problem. It is better to read them, laugh at them and go on wit...