SEBI

Securities and Exchange Board of India

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (frequently abbreviated SEBI) is the regulator for the securities market in India. It was established in the year 1988 and given statutory powers on 12 April 1992 through the SEBI Act, 1992.

Initially SEBI was a non statutory body without any statutory power. However in the year of 1995, the SEBI was given additional statutory power by the Government of India through an amendment to the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act 1992. In April, 1988 the SEBI was constituted as the regulator of capital markets in India under a resolution of the Government of India.

Functions and responsibilities

The Preamble of the Securities and Exchange Board of India describes the basic functions of the Securities and Exchange Board of India as "...to protect the interests of investors in securities and to promote the development of, and to regulate the securities market and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto".

SEBI has to be responsive to the needs of three groups, which constitute the market:

·         the issuers of securities

·         the investors

·         The market intermediaries.

SEBI has three functions rolled into one body: quasi-legislative, quasi-judicial and quasi-executive. It drafts regulations in its legislative capacity, it conducts investigation and enforcement action in its executive function and it passes rulings and orders in its judicial capacity. Though this makes it very powerful, there is an appeal process to create accountability. There is a Securities Appellate Tribunal which is a three-member tribunal and is presently headed by Mr. Justice J P Devadhar, a former judge of the Bombay High Court. A second appeal lies directly to the Supreme Court.