Sinha gets another year as Sebi chief

The Appointments Committee of Cabinet okays the re-appointment, with effect from February 18, 2016, up to March 1, 2017

U K Sinha has been reappointed as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), regulator for the capital and commodity markets,  for one more year. He was appointed for a three-year term in 2011 and this was extended for two years in 2014. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the re-appointment, with effect from February 18, 2016, up to March 1, 2017, the official notification said.

On Saturday, the government had held a meeting on the Union finance ministry's proposal for the reappointment. Sinha will complete five years as chairman on Wednesday. The decision might require some rule changes, as a chairman's tenure typically cannot exceed five years.  “The reappointment is good for the securities market, going through a volatile phase. It is good to have continuity and someone who has experience of handling the securities market at the helm of Sebi. The decision could have come a bit earlier, though, without dragging the process for two months,” said J N Gupta, former executive director at Sebi.

Seven names were shortlisted by a panel chaired by the Cabinet secretary. The other six were Arundhati Bhattacharya, chairman of the State Bank of India; Ramesh Abhishek, ex-head of the Forward Markets Commission; Thomas Mathew, former capital markets joint secretary in the finance ministry; Vikram Limaye, chief executive, IDFC; M S Sahoo, member, Competition Commission of India, and Rajeev K Agarwal, current Sebi wholetime member.

Abhishek was appointed secretary at the department of industrial policy & promotion last week. Mathew is reportedly being considered to heading the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund. Both had, with Bhattacharya, emerged the top contenders for the post, getting the recommendation of the search-cum-selection committee. The finance ministry, however, moved a proposal to re-appoint Sinha.

Until now, D R Mehta was the only person to have held the post of Sebi chairman for more than five years.

His reappointment had come at a time when a parliamentary committee was enquiring into the Ketan Parekh scam. The then government had to defend itself in the Delhi high court against a petition challenging the extension.
RECORD BOOK

• Within a few months of Sinha taking over, Sebi cleared the new takeover code
• Sebi also cleared the decks for more competition in the stock exchange space by wrapping up the legal tussle with Jignesh Shah-led Financial Technologies group
• Sinha was instrumental in taking steps for the revival of the mutual fund industry, introduction of electronic initial public offerings, new category of foreign investors and more stringent corporate governance norms
• Sinha lobbied for more powers such as access to phone call records and powers to search and seize and got most of them
• Under Sinha, Sebi took on the additional responsibility of regulating the commodity markets last year