Nine candidates are said to have been shortlisted to fill two posts of members at the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).
The list includes three chairmen of public sector banks, a head of a public sector unit and a Reserve Bank of India official. One of Sebi’s existing officials has also been shortlisted.
According to sources, interviews would be held at the capital markets regulator’s Mumbai headquarters on Tuesday, May 8. A senior finance ministry official said the selection process was expected to be completed quickly.
Sebi has two vacant slots and a third vacancy would be created as member Prashant Saran’s term is coming to an end this month. For the two previously vacant slots, while Rajeev Agrawal was selected last year as one member, the second slot has been lying vacant for 10 months.
Sebi traditionally appoints at least one of its members from the banking sector. Saran comes from RBI. On a few occasions, Sebi has also had two members from the banking sector.
The finance ministry official said besides suitability for the job, aspects to be considered for selecting the candidates would be knowledge of work, experience and understanding of the financial system. “Market-related exposure will play the most crucial role,” the official said. This time, too, some chairmen of public sector banks are understood to have applied for the post.
They include Allahabad Bank CMD J P Dua, whose term ends in August; Canara Bank CMD S Raman; Bank of India CMD Alok Kumar Misra; and RBI CGM Chandan Sinha.
Sebi’s existing executive director, Usha Narayanan, and even Saran, are said to have been shortlisted for the posts.
Other candidates include Asha Ram Sihag, a 1983-cadre IAS official from Himachal Pradesh; Satish Chandra, who has worked with several Union ministries as joint secretary; and K L Dhingra, who had worked as the CMD of Housing and Urban Development Corporation Ltd and is now the CMD of state-owned telecom equipment manufacturer Indian Telephone Industries.
Sebi needs to fill the vacancies soon as the chairman has a long agenda to complete. Sebi is reviewing the complete process relating to initial public offerings and mutual funds. It is also expected to intensify competition in the stock exchange equity segment.
When Agrawal was appointed, another banker was selected along with him as member. But he never received the final clearance.
Saran, who is shortlisted for the interview, has taken several initiatives, including improving disclosures for various market participants.
