B C Khatua gets one-year extension as FMC Chairman

The government has extended the tenure of FMC Chairman B C Khatua, who retired last week, by one year.

"I have got an extension for one year," Khatua, a 1976 batch IAS officer of the Maharashtra cadre, told PTI.

Khatua, who was appointed as the Forward Markets Commission (FMC) chairman in May 2007, had retired on July 30 at the age of 60.

The government has extended his service in view of the urgency of completing pending files, including the FCRA Amendment Bill, a senior Consumer Affairs Ministry official said.

"This one year is sufficient to finish all pending work, such as the passage of the Forwards Contract Regulation Act (FCRA) Amendment Bill in the Parliament," Khatua said.

The FCRA Amendment Bill could not be passed in the 14th Lok Sabha, and had lapsed with the dissolution of the Lower House. A major reason for this was the Left parties' opposition to the amendment.

"I am optimistic that the Bill would be passed in the ongoing monsoon session. If not now, then definitely in the next session," Khatua noted.
    
The Bill, if passed, will empower FMC to take key decisions such as recognising or de-recognising commodity bourses, raising fees from exchange members and imposing penalty on errant market entities.