| According to an official source, to start with the government has directed the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) to park its funds in the public accounts. |
| This could affect the autonomy of the institution as Irda will then have to take the government's permission to draw funds for its expenditure. |
| Gradually the other regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), will also be brought under a similar structure. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will be exempted since it is the banker to the government and manages funds on its behalf. |
| Incidentally, the Irda and Sebi had earlier informed the government that they should be allowed to keep funds collected since inception with themselves. |
| However, they could remit fees collected from brokers or other market intermediaries to the government. Penalties collected from broking firms or brokers by Sebi are currently transferred to the government account since they are imposed exercising the sovereign power, said sources. |
| Similarly, Irda is of the view that they could remit agent and agency renewal fees to the government. However, it should be allowed to keep fees collected earlier, it had said. This will help it manage daily expenses independently without depending on the government for every small requirement. |
| Other regulators like the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and pension regulatory body already remit their funds to the government's accounts. |
| Industry observers are of the view that financial autonomy of regulatory bodies is important as the relevant line ministry may use this instrument to curtail their functional autonomy. |
| Trai, they added, has been complaining of limited resources as it hampers its functional autonomy. It has also sought the permission of the government to allow it to share a part of the license fees as its independent source of funding. |
Top Section
Explore Business Standard