New Delhi, Jan. 9 -- Mumbai: India's market regulator has moved to significantly soften the regulatory framework governing technical glitches at stockbrokers, a step that will sharply reduce compliance costs for smaller firms while retaining oversight over larger, technology-heavy players.

In a circular issued on Friday, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said it has reviewed and revised the existing framework as part of its broader "ease of compliance" initiative.

The revised rules narrow the scope of the technical glitch framework by limiting its applicability to stockbrokers with more than 10,000 registered clients.

Sebi estimates that this change will take nearly 60% of brokers out of the framework, effectively exemp...