Advisory panel on regulation set up

The Reserve Bank of India has constituted a 'Standing Technical Advisory Committee on Financial Regulation' to strengthen the consultative process among banks, market participants and regulators of financial markets.

The committee, which will initially function for two years from the date of its first meeting, will meet as often as may be necessary, but ordinarily once in two months.

The committee will be headed by K J Udeshi, deputy governor, Reserve Bank of India. Its members are: A K Purwar, chairman, State Bank of India; S S Kohli, chairman and managing director, Punjab National Bank; A K Batra, member Securities & Exchange Board of India; M Damodaran, acting CMD, Industrial Development Bank of India; P J Nayak, managing director, UTI Bank; Niall S K Booker, CEO - India, HSBC; M G Bhide, director, CRISIL; N L Mitra, vice chancellor, National Law University; G K Raman, director, Sundaram Finance Ltd; H N Sinor, CEO & secretary, Indian Banks' Association.

The committee will review current regulatory regime with a view to help the RBI simplifying and rationalising it and consider the existing regulatory practices on prudential norms and disclosure standards for banks and non banks regulated by RBI and recommend measures for progressive alignment with international best practices consistent with India's needs.

It will advise on the changes needed in the regulatory framework in the light of the emerging diversification of business mix of the financial services industry and also help analyse, as appropriate, harmonization of regulatory and prudential norms for the various entities in the financial services sector in alignment with prescriptions of other regulators.

The committee will explore appropriate regulatory responses to developments in the banking and financial markets and outline the steps to be taken by the RBI and banking entities in the context of Basel II norms.

The permanent invitees to the committee are : RBI deputy governors, Vepa Kamesam and Rakesh Mohan; and executive director, Shyamala Gopinath.