Framing investor charter for securities mkt: Sebi chairman Ajay Tyagi

Capital markets regulator Sebi is working on framing a charter for investors in the securities market, which is aimed at bringing more transparency in the investment process.

The charter will focus on the rights and responsibilities of investors and also the investor grievance redressal mechanism.

"Efforts are on to frame the investor charter, as announced in the Union Budget 2021-22," Sebi chairman Ajay Tyagi said in the regulator's annual report 2020-21.

It has been proposed to have a charter for Sebi and separate charters for entities regulated by the markets regulator, the report noted.

Also, it has been proposed to prescribe timelines for various investor related activities in the charter, it added.

The investor charter will not only help to bring in more transparency in the investment process but also encourage investors in the market to invest with better knowledge, the report noted.

With an objective to provide protection to investors, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Union Budget 2021-22 had proposed to introduce an investor charter as a right of all financial investors across all financial products.

On the development front, the Sebi chief said the regulator will continue to facilitate introduction of new products, platforms and participants.

He further said that Sebi is working on areas such as gold spot exchange, social stock exchange, improving retail participation in real estate investment trusts (REITs) and infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs), development of passive funds, facilitating entry of new market infrastructure institutions among others.

The Sebi chief said that market events and trends during 2020-21clearly demonstrated the potential of the securities market to contribute to India's economic development.

By the end of March 2021, stock market capitalization rose to more than Rs 200 lakh crore, which was about 103 per cent of GDP, he said.

Despite the pandemic, the overall resource mobilization during the financial year 2020-21 remained strong at Rs 10.12 lakh crore,

even surpassing last fiscal year's figure of Rs 9.96 lakh crore.

"While businesses in general were affected due to the pandemic, many companies were able to raise substantial funds through equity and debt this year. All of the IPOs saw good investor interest," he added.

Going forward, Tyagi said that Sebi will continue to strive to further develop securities market and sustain market confidence.