U K Sinha in shortlist for Sebi chief's post

UTI Asset Management Company Chairman & Managing Director U K Sinha has made it to the shortlist of four or five candidates for heading the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).

This is significant as Sinha, a 58-year-old former Indian Administrative Services officer from the Bihar cadre, didn’t apply for the vacancy advertised by the government in September, but has been nominated by the search panel headed by Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar for the interview scheduled next month. The incumbent, C B Bhave, is retiring in February.

In 2008, Bhave was selected for the Sebi chairman’s post, though he did not apply for the position. Sinha was among the contenders that year.

This time, the government has received 18 applications for the post. R Bandyopadhyay, secretary in of the corporate affairs ministry, P R Bindhumadhavan, former additional chief secretary of Tamil Nadu, and O P Bhatt, chairman & managing director of State Bank of India, are the other likely contenders for the top post at Sebi.

Sources familiar with the developments said the government was likely to finalise the name by the end of December. However, Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla, when contacted, said the process was still nowhere near completion.

The appointment of the Sebi chief will be for a period of five years. Sinha brings with him years of experience in the financial sector. He worked in the finance ministry between 2002 and 2005 as joint secretary looking after capital markets, external commercial borrowing, pension reforms and foreign exchange management. If selected, he will be the eighth chairman of Sebi.

He was responsible for drafting the Sebi (Amendment) Act, 2002, UTI (Repeal) Act, 2002, Securities Law Amendment Act, 2004, and PFRDA Bill 2005. He also worked as joint secretary in the banking division. He has been on the board of directors of SIDBI, IFCI, Bank of Baroda, Central Bank of India, UTI AMC and the Pension Funds Regulatory & Development Authority.

More recently, Sinha was in the news for heading the working group on foreign investment that was set up to review the policies for foreign investments in India. The committee has recommended a major overhaul of the regulatory framework, proposing a structure where foreign entities could start investing in the domestic market without ever setting foot on the Indian soil. It also proposes doing away with different investor categories like foreign institutional investors, foreign venture capital investors and non-resident Indians.