Sebi board to take up conflict of interest panel report on December 17

Pandey says new disclosure rules for Sebi staff and board aim to boost trust

The board of the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is scheduled to take up the recommendations of a high-level committee to overhaul conflict-of-interest and disclosure rules in its meeting on December 17, Sebi chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey said on Friday.

 

Speaking on the sidelines of an event to inaugurate the Sebi pavilion at the India International Trade Fair, Pandey justified the need for such disclosures for the board members and staff of Sebi to declare their assets, liabilities, trading activities and relevant relationships at multiple stages — at the time of appointment, annually, upon key events and at exit. “I hope the board will clear the proposal,” Pandey said.

 

Sebi had constituted the committee at its March 2025 board meeting, the first under the current chairman, Pandey. The appointments came amid allegations of conflicts of interest raised by the now-defunct Hindenburg Research against Sebi’s former chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch.

 

The panel was chaired by Pratyush Sinha, former chief vigilance commissioner, with Injeti Srinivas, former secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, and ex-IFSCA chairman, as vice-chairman.

 

Speaking at the event, Pandey said Indians are investing in the Indian market with a lot of enthusiasm, which reflects their rising confidence in the market. “For the last few years, the number of investors is also rising fast. In October, there were more than 21 crore demat accounts of 13.6 crore investors. Not only that, every day more than one lakh demat accounts are being opened. In our mutual fund industry there is more than Rs 80 trillion investment done with more than seven times increase in only one decade. These numbers are encouraging, but it also increases our responsibility to ensure that the first-time investors do such investments consciously and after taking all precautions,” he added.