SEBI

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) was constituted as a non-statutory authority on April 12, 1988 through a resolution of the Government of India to oversee the functioning of securities market in India. The headquarters of SEBI is situated in Mumbai and the regional offices in Delhi, Ahmedabad, Chennai and Kolkata.

SEBI became statutory organization with the enactment of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992, which came into force on January 30, 1992. With this development, the Controller of Capital Issues Act, 1947 was repealed.

The Preamble of SEBI Act describes the objectives of SEBI. These are: i) to protect the interest of investors, ii) promote the securities market, and iii) regulate the securities market. With this mandate, SEBI actions are intended towards nurturing the Indian securities market that facilitates capital formation and protect investors’ interests.

Since its establishment in 1988, SEBI has introduced numerous reforms to facilitate robust development of Indian securities market ecosystem and protect the integrity of the market through effective regulations. Some of the transformational reforms, inter-alia, include registration of intermediaries, regulations for various market intermediaries and practices such as insider trading regulations, dematerialization of securities, screen based trading, rolling settlement, prudent margining for risk management measures, banning of badla and introduction of derivatives, rationalization and ease KYC process, corporate governance norms, ASBA (application supported by blocked amount for application to public offers), reduction of time period between issue closure date and listing, rationalization of cost and other aspects relating to Mutual Funds, including option of direct investment in mutual funds, multiple platforms and investment products such as SME Platform. Alternative Investment Funds, REITs, InvITs, municipal bonds, etc. for raising capital for varied purposes, a dedicated online portal for redressal of investor complaints (SCORES) and establishment of National institute of Securities Market for capacity building in Indian securities market, etc.

Some of the major reforms undertaken by SEBI in recent years include introduction of Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR) to enhance disclosures on ESG; various steps towards development of a corporate bond market such as Electronic Book-building Platform for corporate debts, strengthening of credit rating regulations, introduction of Request for Quote (RFQ), establishment of Limited Purpose Clearing Corporation (LPCC), Corporate Debt Market Development Fund (CDMDF), etc., introduction of Social Stock Exchange, further reduction in timeline for listing of issues to T+3 days, shortening the settlement cycle to T+1 and changes focusing on overall ease of on-boarding and investing in Indian securities market.

Given its mandate, SEBI is committed to continue its journey towards balancing its three-fold mandate of protection of interest of investors, development and regulation of the securities market.