Earlier this week, a Sebi panel under former chief vigilance commissioner Pratyush Sinha proposed greater disclosure and a “zero-tolerance” culture to address conflict of interest pertaining to senior officials of the capital markets regulator.
The Committee on Conflict of Interest, Disclosures and Related Matters called for public disclosure of their assets and liabilities by the Sebi chairman, whole time members, and chief general manager rank officers.
The regulator set up the panel in March after Tuhin Kanta Pandey took over as its chairman.
The review followed growing scrutiny of governance norms at the regulator following conflict-of-interest allegations against former Sebi chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch.
The US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research had alleged that Buch and her husband had held undisclosed offshore investments, which they refuted.The Sebi panel also recommended introducing a secure and anonymous whistleblower system for reporting conflict of interest, a ban on expensive gifts, a two-year restriction on post-retirement assignments, and creating a post of chief ethics and compliance officer.
Investor participation
Citing a report, Pandey said about 63% of people are aware of the securities market in India but only over 9% are investing. The capital markets regulator is taking steps to bridge this gap. -Our Bureau