| Securities and Exchange Board of India | |
|---|---|
| भारतीय प्रतिभूति और विनिमय बोर्ड | |
| SEBI Bhavan, Mumbai headquarters | |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 12 April 1992 |
| Jurisdiction | Government of India |
| Headquarters | Mumbai, Maharashtra |
| Employees | 525 (2009)[1] |
| Agency executive | U. K. Sinha, Chairman |
| Website | |
| www.sebi.gov.in | |
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (frequently abbreviated SEBI) is the regulator for the securities market in India.
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It was formed officially by the Government of India in 1992 with SEBI Act 1992[2] being passed by the Indian Parliament. SEBI is headquartered in the business district of Bandra-Kurla complex in Mumbai, and has Northern, Eastern, Southern and Western regional offices in New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Ahmedabad.
Controller of Capital Issues was the regulatory authority before SEBI came into existence;[3] it derived authority from the Capital Issues (Control) Act, 1947.
Initially SEBI was a non statutory body without any statutory power. However in 1995, the SEBI was given additional statutory power by the Government of India through an amendment to the securities and Exchange Board of India Act 1992. In April, 1998 the SEBI was constituted as the regulator of capital market in India under a resolution of the Government of India.
Upendra Kumar Sinha was appointed chairman on 18 February 2011 replacing C. B. Bhave.[4]
The Board comprises[5]
| Name | Designation |
|---|---|
| Upendra Kumar Sinha | Chairman |
| Prashant Saran | Whole Time Member |
| CA. T.V. Mohandas Pai | Director, Infosys |
| Dr. Thomas Mathew | Joint Secretary, Ministry of Finance |
| V. K. Jairath | Member Appointed |
| Anand Sinha | Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India |
List of former Chairmen[6]:
| Name | From | To |
|---|---|---|
| C. B. Bhave | 18 February 2008 | 18 February 2011 |
| M. Damodaran | 18 February 2005 | 18 February 2008 |
| G. N. Bajpai | 20 February 2002 | 18 February 2005 |
| D. R. Mehta | 21 February 1995 | 20 February 2002 |
| S. S. Nadkarni | 17 January 1994 | 31 January 1995 |
| G. V. Ramakrishna | 24 August 1990 | 17 January 1994 |
| Dr. S. A. Dave | 12 April 1988 | 23 August 1990 |
SEBI has to be responsive to the needs of three groups, which constitute the market:
SEBI has three functions rolled into one body: quasi-legislative, quasi-judicial and quasi-executive. It drafts regulations in its legislative capacity, it conducts investigation and enforcement action in its executive function and it passes rulings and orders in its judicial capacity. Though this makes it very powerful, there is an appeals process to create accountability. There is a Securities Appellate Tribunal which is a three-member tribunal and is presently headed by a former Chief Justice of a High court - Mr. Justice NK Sodhi. A second appeal lies directly to the Supreme Court.
SEBI has enjoyed success as a regulator by pushing systemic reforms aggressively and successively (e.g. the quick movement towards making the markets electronic and paperless rolling settlement on T+2 basis). SEBI has been active in setting up the regulations as required under law.
SEBI has also been instrumental in taking quick and effective steps in light of the global meltdown and the Satyam fiasco. It had increased the extent and quantity of disclosures to be made by Indian corporate promoters. More recently, in light of the global meltdown,it liberalised the takeover code to facilitate investments by removing regulatory structures. In one such move, SEBI has increased the application limit for retail investors to Rs 2 lakh, from Rs 1 lakh at present.[7]
For the discharge of its functions efficiently, SEBI has been invested with the necessary powers which are: