Jaitley asks SEBI to guard against market violations

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Sunday asked market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to be vigilant against possible market violations, while focusing more on attracting retail investors and addressing their grievances.

"The minister advised Sebi to remain vigilant about probable violations in the market, focus more on attracting the retail investors and on redressing investor grievances," Sebi said in a release.

Talking to media persons after the board meeting, Sebi Chairman U.K. Sinha said the finance minister also discussed implementation of his maiden budget measures related to the capital markets, as well as the current state of the investment in the country.

"Two-three important messages which the minister gave to us were, for example, measures to be taken to attract retail investors into the market," Sinha said.

Jaitley also discussed issues related to the recommendations of the Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (FSLRC).

"The current state of the investment climate in the country and the recommendations of FSLRC were also discussed," Sebi said.

The FSLRC report submitted last year has suggested wide-ranging reforms in financial sector regulations, including in the banking, insurance and capital market segments.

"The finance minister suggested that the regulators should move towards greater transparency," Sinha said.

It was Jaitley's first interaction with Sebi board members and top officials after taking charge.

In Sunday's board meeting, Sebi cleared two proposals to enable creation and listing of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs).