How SEBI’s Recent ESG Mandates Are Boosting Women Led Startups in India

In 2025, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) elevated ESG mandates by introducing the BRSR Core under the SEBI BRSR 2025 framework, requiring businesses to share standardised and verifiable data on aspects like carbon emissions, workplace diversity, ethical practices, and boardroom accountability. The mandate requires India’s top 1,000 listed companies to file ESG reports with increasing scope and assurance over the next several years, with mandatory ESG reporting for the top 250 companies including value chain disclosures now in effect for FY 2025–26. Crucially, this framework does not stop at a company’s front door. SEBI requires listed companies to disclose ESG information on key upstream and downstream value-chain partners, imposing accountability for ESG risks outside a company’s own operations. This has significant implications for startups that supply to or partner with large corporates.