Siddarth Pai Reappointed to SEBI's Alternative Investment Policy Advisory Committee (AIPAC) 

Siddarth Pai's appointment to SEBI's reconstituted Alternative Investment Policy Advisory Committee (AIPAC) places 3one4 Capital at India's most consequential AIF regulatory body – a direct reflection of the firm's decade-long commitment to governance-first investing and policy leadership. This appointment matters because AIPAC's recommendations have driven the major structural reforms in India's ₹15 lakh-crore (₹15 trillion) AIF ecosystem since 2015.

AIPAC's Reconstitution Signals A New Phase For India's AIF Ecosystem

SEBI reconstituted the AIPAC in 2025 under new chairperson Dr. Janmejaya Sinha (Chairman, Boston Consulting Group India), replacing founding chair N.R. Narayana Murthy after a decade of leadership. The 22-member committee now includes Siddarth alongside senior representatives from SIDBI, NIIF, HDFC Capital, LIC, Union Bank, CRISIL, IVCA, and others. The reconstitution reflects SEBI's intent to bring sharper practitioner perspectives into AIF policymaking at a moment when the industry's committed capital base has grown over 300x since AIPAC's formation in 2015.

AIPAC's mandate spans five core areas: advising SEBI on AIF ecosystem development, identifying regulatory hurdles, flagging market abuse, coordinating with other regulators, and strengthening the startup ecosystem. Across four published reports and continuous deliberations, AIPAC has directly shaped the adoption of IPEV Guidelines for unlisted security valuation, the Co-Investment Vehicle (CIV) framework, the Accredited Investor-only fund architecture, angel fund reform, and the pro-rata rights framework — collectively, the most significant structural upgrades to India's AIF regulations in the past two years.

2024–2025 Has Been The Most Active Regulatory Period In India's AIF History

The pace of SEBI regulatory reform affecting AIFs has been unprecedented. In 2024 alone, SEBI issued five amendment regulations, a comprehensive Master Circular consolidating all AIF circulars, and launched frameworks for dissolution periods, mandatory due diligence, borrowing limits for Category I and II AIFs, and NISM certification for key investment personnel. The September 2024 valuation circular — adopting IPEV Guidelines for unlisted securities in place of mutual fund norms — was a landmark AIPAC-driven reform that aligns India with global PE/VC valuation standards.

In 2025, the regulatory architecture evolved further. The Co-Investment Vehicle framework (September 2025) eliminated the need for separate PMS licenses for co-investment, a change the industry had sought for years. The Third Amendment Regulations (November 2025) introduced light-touch regulation for Accredited Investor-only schemes, reduced the Large Value Fund threshold from ₹70 crore to ₹25 crore, and waived NISM certification requirements for AI-only funds. The angel fund overhaul (September 2025) reclassified angel funds as standalone Category I AIFs restricted to accredited investors, with rationalised investment limits of ₹10 lakh to ₹25 crore per company.

Siddarth Pai Represents A Decade of Governance in Action

Siddarth's AIPAC appointment is the culmination of sustained, institution-building work in Indian VC governance and regulation. As the youngest-ever Executive Council member of the Indian Venture Capital Association (IVCA) and twice-running co-Chair of its Regulatory Affairs Committee (re-elected for a second term), he has personally authored representations that influenced AIF policy across securities regulation, taxation, foreign exchange, and startup law. His advocacy was central to the campaign that achieved the abolition of the angel tax (Section 56(2)(viib)) in the Union Budget 2024 — a reform he described as "a watershed moment in the Indian startup story."

In October 2021, Siddarth became India's first ESG Officer appointed by a venture capital firm, a role he holds alongside his responsibilities as Founding Partner and CFO. He is also a founding member and Secretary of the PE/VC CFO Association (PEVCFOA), an expert policy member at iSPIRT, and serves on startup councils of both the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the All India Management Association (AIMA).

3one4's Governance Infrastructure Is A Deliberate Institutional Strategy

The firm's policy leadership is inseparable from its operational architecture. 3one4 Capital maintains a dedicated Governance, Business Integrity & Closures (GBIC) practice — a function that converts regulatory and market signals into actionable frameworks across the portfolio. The firm supports the installation of governance norms in every portfolio company from its entry round, covering compliance, reporting, transparency, and disclosure standards.

3one4's ESG commitment functions at every operating level: the firm is the first Indian VC signatory to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and the fifth Indian investment firm overall. The firm's ESG Report 2024 documents integration across the full investment lifecycle — from pre-deal evaluation through portfolio monitoring and exit. Preqin has awarded 3one4 one of the highest rankings for ESG transparency, and the firm's leadership-focused content series, The Record — featuring conversations with N.R. Narayana Murthy, former SEBI Chairman M. Damodaran, K.V. Kamath, and Nandan Nilekani — has fostered active dialogue across the ecosystem. This programmatic approach to governance extends across the firm's activities and is a vital component of its ecosystem engagement.

What This Means

The convergence of Siddarth's AIPAC membership, 3one4's IVCA leadership, and the firm's governance infrastructure creates a structural advantage that has been compounding over a decade and is difficult to replicate. At a moment when India's AIF regulatory framework is evolving, having a founding partner invited to join the advisory body shaping these changes provides us with confidence that 3one4's operational practices are aligned with the highest emerging standards. The firm's decade-long commitment to governance is not ancillary to returns, it is the foundation on which institutional-quality venture investing in India is built.

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