Narayana Murthy to head panel on startup funding platform

The panel will devise rules for a new funding platform for homegrown start-ups

Capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) named Infosys founder N R Narayana Murthy to head a panel to devise rules on a new funding platform for homegrown start-ups, it said on its website.

In March, Sebi had announced an alternative investment platform targeted at the country's start-ups, relaxing requirements to encourage them to list at home.

Murthy's alternative investment policy advisory panel will devise policy and rules for the platform, and is modelled after other panels that advise Sebi.

The regulator released the details on its site. Rules have made start-up listings difficult in India, where rules restrict, for example, early exits of original shareholders.

Reuters reported this year that Sebi has been working to change the rules to make listing on Indian exchanges easier for homegrown start-ups, at a time when large e-commerce players such as Flipkart are said to be considering an Initial Public Offering on US exchanges.

The 18-member panel includes some of India's best-known private equity and venture capitalists, including KKR India chief executive Sanjay Nayar, Piramal Group Chairman Ajay Piramal and Devinjit Singh, managing director of the Carlyle Group India. Others include Saurabh Srivastava, who founded start-up incubator Indian Angel Network, and Sebi, RBI and the finance ministry representatives.