New insider trading norms within ten days: Sebi

To curb the growing menace of insider trading activities in the stock market, regulator Sebi will come up with a new set of norms within next ten days, Chairman U K Sinha said today.

The capital markets watchdog had set up an expert panel in March this year to suggest new measures to regulate insider trading. The panel has submitted its recommendations to Sebi (Securities and Exchange Board of India), based on which a final report is being prepared.

Speaking to reporters here, Sinha said Sebi has received the recommendations and it is "almost through with the final report, which should be issued in a week or at best in the next ten days".

He was speaking on the sidelines of a Crisil event on corporate bonds market. Sinha also released a Crisil yearbook on the Indian corporate debt market, in which Economic affairs secretary Arvind Mayaram was also present.

The new insider trading regulations would replace nearly two-decade old set of norms.

The expert committee set up in March was headed by N K Sodhi, retired Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court and former presiding officer of the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT). The members comprised Sebi officials, executives from companies, legal experts and journalists.

There have been several amendments to the existing insider trading regulations ever since they were put in place nearly two decades ago.

While setting up this committee, Sebi had said that world over the regulatory focus was shifting towards containing the rising menace of insider trading effectively.

The new norms are also believed to take into account the practises that are followed in other parts of the world.