Sebi rejigs committee on commodity derivatives, panel to have 16 members

Markets regulator Sebi has re-constituted its commodity derivatives advisory panel that examines issues related to contract designs and new products in the segment as well as advises on matters related to delivery mechanism and warehouses.

Rejigging the advisory panel on commodity derivatives, Sebi said it now has 16 members instead of 17. The panel would continue to be chaired by retired IAS officer Ashok Dalwani, an update with the regulator showed.

The other members of the panel include NSE MD and CEO Ashish Chauhan, chief of NCDEX Arun Raste and MCX MD and CEO P S Reddy.

The panel also has representatives from Sebi, Niti Aayog, Reserve Bank of India, finance ministry, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), Commodity Participants Association of India (CPAI), Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA), and MMTC.

Besides, representatives of the commission for agricultural costs and prices, department of agriculture, cooperation and family welfare, department of consumer affairs, department of food and public distribution, and department of commerce are members of the committee.

The committee has been mandated to recommend measures for improving market safety, efficiency, transparency and integrity and reducing cost of transaction. In addition, the panel will examine issues related to contract designs and new products in commodity derivatives and to advise on matters related to delivery mechanisms and warehouses.

In addition, the regulator has restructured its advisory committees on alternative investment policy which advises the capital markets regulator on a range of issues that impact further development of the Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) space.

The 20-member committee is chaired by Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy. Apart from Murthy, the committee includes members from Sebi, Ministry of Finance, AIF players and industry associations.

Rajesh Panwar, Joint Director, DEA, Ministry of Finance, and Karthik Reddy, chairman of Indian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (IVCA), are the new inductees.

Gopal Srinivasan, chairman and managing director, TVS Capital Funds; Gopal Jain, co-founder and managing partner, Gaja Capital; Vipul Roongta, managing director and CEO at HDFC Capital Advisors; Prashant Khemka, founder of White Oak Capital Management; and Mahavir Lunawat, vice chairman, Association of Investment Bankers of India (AIBI), would continue as its members.

The panel is mandated to advise Sebi on any hurdles that might hinder the development of the alternative investment industry and any other item relevant to the segment as well as development of the startup ecosystem in India.

Also, the committee has been entrusted with the task of advising Sebi on any issues which need to be taken up with other regulators for development of the alternative investment industry.