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What is SEBI?
Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi)
SEBI is a statutory body and a market regulator, which controls the securities market in India. The basic functions of Sebi is to protect the interests of investors in securities and to promote and regulate the securities market. Sebi is run by its board of members. The board consists of a Chairman and several other whole time and part time members. The chairman is nominated by the union government. The others include two members from the finance ministry, one member from Reserve Bank of India and five other members are also nominated by the Centre. The headquarters of Sebi is situated in Mumbai and the regional offices are located in Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Chennai and Delhi.History of Sebi
Before Sebi came into existence, Controller of Capital Issues was the regulatory authority; it derived authority from the Capital Issues (Control) Act, 1947. In 1988, Sebi was constituted as the regulator of capital markets in India. Initially, Sebi was a non-statutory body without any statutory power. Following the passage of the Sebi Act by Parliament in 1992, it was given autonomous and statutory powers.
What is Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT)
Sebi also appoints various committees, whenever required to look into the pressing issues of that time. Further, a Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) has been constituted to protect the interest of entities that feel aggrieved by Sebi’s decision. SAT consists of a presiding officer and two other members.
Functions and powers of Sebi
Sebi controls activities of stock exchanges, safeguards the rights of shareholders and also guarantees the security of their investment. It also aims to check fraudulence by harmonising its statutory regulations and self-regulating business. The regulator also enables a competitive professional market for intermediaries
Apart from the above functions, Sebi provides a marketplace in which the issuers can increase finance properly. It also ensures safety and supply of precise and accurate information from the investors. Sebi analyses the trading of stocks and safes the security market from the malpractices. It controls the stockbrokers and sub- stockbrokers. It provides education regarding the market to the investors to enhance their knowledge.