Tyagi gets extension as Sebi chief

THE GOVT AIMS TO ENSURE CONTINUITY AMID COVID-RELATED UNCERTAINTIES

MUMBAI: The finance ministry on Wednesday extended Ajay Tyagi’s tenure as the chairman of Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) by 18 months, opting for continuity amid an uncertain economic environment.

“The decision was mostly to ensure that there are no disruptions at regulators at a time when the Indian economy and corporates are going through Covid-19 related uncertainties,” a finance ministry official said on the condition of anonymity.

Tyagi, an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, will now head the regulator till at least February 28, 2022. This is his second extension; the first one was granted in February for six months.

During his tenure, Tyagi instituted a consultative process for drafting regulations and ensured that the market regulator was not influenced by special interests. Under him, Sebi set up 30 committees and working groups, which drafted close to 60 discussion papers. However, his biggest achievement is the way he handled the Covid-19-related disruptions. From March 25, when the lockdown began, till the last week of May, Sebi focussed on relaxing compliance requirements for regulated entities and ensured markets were not manipulated amid high volatility.

“Ajay Tyagi has performed extremely well as chairman of Sebi. He has been humble, open to ideas, a tough enforcer of rules without fear or favour and above all has been a good leader,” said Sandeep Parekh, managing partner, Finsec Law Advisors.

During the nationwide lockdown, Sebi eased several norms, including allowing participants to trade from home and easing fundraising norms.