Sebi Chairman Promises Transparency, Conflict of Interest Disclosure

Mumbai, Mar 7 (PTI) Capital markets regulator Sebi's new chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey on Friday promised to come out with a framework where Sebi board members will have to reveal conflict of interest to the public.

Addressing his maiden public event, Pandey, who took charge as the Sebi chairman on March 1, said this is essential from the point of view of transparency and added that such moves will help the regulator gain trust of the ecosystem.

It can be noted that last year, US-based short seller Hindenberg had made specific allegations against Pandey's predecessor Madhabi Puri Buch circling around potential conflicts of interest based on whistleblower documents.

These allegations included her personal investments in an offshore fund where an affiliate of the Adani Group, which Sebi was investigating, was a co-investor.

In response to those, Sebi had said that Buch had made "relevant disclosures" and recused herself when required and the allegations against Adani Group were duly investigated.

"I think we need to be more transparent on various other measures, including, for example, on the conflict of interest of the board and so on.

And we will be coming forward with our own plan to further transparently, you know, reveal these conflict of interest, etc, to the public," Pandey said.

"I think trust and transparency extends to Sebi itself. We need to not only create trust of all stakeholders in us, but we also need to maintain that trust," Pandey said, speaking at Moneycontrol's Global Wealth Summit 2025.

Amid concerns over heightened foreign institutional investor outflows, the Sebi chief said the capital markets regulator is further rationalising the regulations governing their operations.

"We at Sebi are conscious about the need to create a conducive environment to attract foreign capital. We will be happy to engage with FPI and AIF industry participants to address their difficulties and further rationalize regulations to promote ease of operation," he said.

We need to have both domestic and foreign capital to support the growth momentum, he said, adding that India is a bright spot for long-term investments.

The country has attracted global investments, across equities, debt and private equity spaces over the years, Pandey said acknowledging that the presence of such long-term foreign capital would further support infrastructure growth, innovation and entrepreneurship in India.

"As we face global headwinds in terms of geoeconomic fragmentation, tariff issues and elevated uncertainties, we need to build upon our resilience and strength to sustain our growth," Pandey said.

A high level of sustained growth, low current account deficit, low external public debt, healthy bank balance sheets, fiscal consolidation road map, continuing push on government capex and infrastructure and forex reserves buffer are some key pillars of support for India's resilience against exogenous shocks, he added.

He also promised that Sebi will be willing to relook at redundant and outdated regulations which are not serving any purpose.