The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), on July 13, 2026, notified the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (Regulatory Sandbox) Regulations, 2026 to establish a Regulatory Sandbox for the pension sector. The Regulations aim to promote responsible innovation, enable testing of innovative products, services, business models, technologies, and delivery mechanisms, and provide limited, time-bound regulatory relaxations while safeguarding subscribers' interests.
The Regulations prescribe the eligibility criteria, application process, approval mechanism, testing parameters, reporting requirements, and operational framework for participation in the Regulatory Sandbox. Eligible applicants include PFRDA-registered intermediaries, empanelled entities, entities applying in association with such intermediaries, and other entities permitted under the Sandbox Framework. Approved applicants will operate as Sandbox Entities within a controlled environment for testing innovative solutions.
The Regulations also empower PFRDA to grant exemptions or relaxations from specified regulatory requirements necessary for conducting sandbox tests, subject to prescribed conditions. The aggregate testing period, including any extension, cannot exceed 12 months from the date of initial approval, ensuring that innovations are evaluated within a defined regulatory framework before wider implementation.
[Notification No. F. No. PFRDA-16/01/01/0001/2026-REG-CRA]
