Vaish takes charge as chief executive of MCX today

Honours FMC request, joins two months ahead of original schedule

Manoj Vaish is set to take charge on Saturday at Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), the country’s largest commodity derivatives trading bourse, as managing director and chief executive.

He was selected on January 3  for a three-year term. At that point, he was MD of NSDL Database Management. The MCX charge was vacant after Shreekant Javalgekar resigned in late October, following the Rs 5,600-crore payment default at National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL), where he was one of the directors.

Sources said Vaish had sought a longer period, of three months from January, for assuming the office at MCX. However, the Forward Markets Commission (FMC), the derivatives regulator, had requested him to join as early as possible and he’d agreed.

He has a tough job ahead, with the MCX board of directors having decided to proceed with implementing the FMC order to cut the equity stake of Financial Technologies (FTIL; its promoter and that of NSEL, too) from the existing 26 per cent to below two per cent. FTIL has challenged FMC’s order at the high court here; the hearing is scheduled on February 7. Plus, the bigger challenge of restoring confidence in the commodity futures market.