Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, in a meeting with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) today, revealed that the growth of the Board is in accordance with the need of the hour.
Addressing the meeting here, Jaitley said that a number of initiatives have been discussed, with reference to the Budget announcement.
"This is the meeting that we have after the budget every year, where the SEBI board and officers of the Finance Ministry interact with the board and primarily its issues related to the market. SEBI has been evolving as per the needs of the Economy and discussions are related to the future agenda," he said.
Furthermore, SEBI Chairman UK Sinha proposed a plan of action drafted post the meeting with the Finance Minister, with regards to the Budget allocation and involvement of RBI and other agencies with respect to certain issues, as explained below:
· The Board was informed about the various aspects of Offshore Derivative Instruments or ODIs and the various steps taken by SEBI after September, 2014, The Board noted that in view of the strict norms for ODI issuance, the notional value of ODIs to the AUC of FPIs has declined over the years from a high of 55.7 percent of total asset under custody (AUC) in June 2007 to 6.7 percent in December 2016. The consistent tightening of ODI norms by SEBI has not only been through increased compliances but also improved transparency. It was also noted that simultaneous liberalisation by SEBI in registration process of FPIs has made ODI less attractive
· The board will review regulations and relevant circulars pertaining to Market Infrastructure Institutions (MIIs) including Stock Exchanges, Depositories and Clearing Corporation. The Board also noted the recommendation of Dr.Bimal Jalan Committee to review the working of MIIs after five years.
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· The Board has approved the proposal for comprehensive review of Securities Contracts (Regulation) (Stock Exchanges and Clearing Corporations) Regulations, 2012 and SEBI (Depositories and Participants) Regulations, 1996 and to seek public comments on the same. The consultative paper seeking Public Comments on the above will be made available on SEBI website.
· The Board took note of the information memorandum on various references received related to collocation facility of NSE and the examination carried out by SEBI under the guidance the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) of SEBI. As advised by SEBI, NSE's Board has also undertaken an independent forensic audit on the matter. The Board also took note of steps taken by SEBI in consultation with TAC to strengthen the exchange's trading infrastructure in the areas namely, fair and transparent data dissemination process, tools to monitor service quality of data feeds, mechanism to manage system load in a fair manner, direct connectivity between collocation facilities of exchanges, etc. The concerns related to systems and processes at the exchange arising out of examinations are being addressed in consultation with TAC and NSE's Board.
· The Board was apprised about the actions so far taken by SEBI against some of the brokers on the basis of examination of allegations received with respect to their role in NSEL matters.
· The Board was apprised of the developments with respect to steps taken by SEBI in connection with International Financial Service Centre, and companies on the dissemination board of National Exchanges. The Board was also apprised of the process of SEBI Settlement of Administrative and Civil Proceedings and the reasons for pendency of various applications thereon, for more than two years.
SEBI has appointed Senior IAS Officer Ajay Tyagi to take over as the Chairman of SEBI, from UK Sinha, whose tenure ends in March 2017.