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The Union finance ministry has sent a formal note to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), extending the current chairman U K Sinha’s term by two years.
His term was to end on February 17.
Sinha, who took charge in 2011, will continue to head Sebi till 2016, according to a source familiar with the matter. The finance ministry had sent a proposal for his extension to the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet last month.
He is the first person to get a term beyond the three-year mark since D R Mehta’s term ended in 2002. G N Bajpai, M Damodaran and C B Bhave, the three chairmen preceding Sinha, had three-year terms.
Sinha has initiated a number of changes in the regulatory framework. New corporate governance norms, regulations for research analysts, and insider-trading rules are all in various stages of implementation.
Under Sinha’s watch, Sebi revamped the consent mechanism, introduced a single know-your-customer regulation for all financial products under the regulator’s ambit and overhauled the initial public offer regulations. During his tenure, the foreign investor regime also saw a change, with the foreign institutional investor framework being replaced with the new foreign portfolio investor regulations, easing portfolio investments into the country.
Sebi also got additional powers of search-and-seizure as well as attachment of properties to deal with the proliferation of dubious investment schemes throughout the country, during his tenure.
A former joint secretary in the finance ministry, Sinha also headed UTI Mutual Fund.
His term was to end on February 17.
Sinha, who took charge in 2011, will continue to head Sebi till 2016, according to a source familiar with the matter. The finance ministry had sent a proposal for his extension to the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet last month.
He is the first person to get a term beyond the three-year mark since D R Mehta’s term ended in 2002. G N Bajpai, M Damodaran and C B Bhave, the three chairmen preceding Sinha, had three-year terms.
Sinha has initiated a number of changes in the regulatory framework. New corporate governance norms, regulations for research analysts, and insider-trading rules are all in various stages of implementation.
Under Sinha’s watch, Sebi revamped the consent mechanism, introduced a single know-your-customer regulation for all financial products under the regulator’s ambit and overhauled the initial public offer regulations. During his tenure, the foreign investor regime also saw a change, with the foreign institutional investor framework being replaced with the new foreign portfolio investor regulations, easing portfolio investments into the country.
Sebi also got additional powers of search-and-seizure as well as attachment of properties to deal with the proliferation of dubious investment schemes throughout the country, during his tenure.
A former joint secretary in the finance ministry, Sinha also headed UTI Mutual Fund.
