SEBI CHIEF TYAGI GETS 18-MONTH EXTENSION II, 1
Ajay Tyagi will continue to head the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for another 18 months. The Centre has extended the appointment of Tyagi as Sebi chairman until February 28, 2022. “The appointments committee of the Cabinet (headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi) has approved the extension of term… for a further period of 18 months with effect from September 1 (2020) up to February 28, 2022, or until further orders, whichever is earlier,” the finance ministry said.
Ajay Tyagi will continue to head the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for another 18 months. The Centre has extended he appointment of Tyagi as Sebi chairman until February 28, 2022.
“The appointments committee of the Cabinet (headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi) has approved the extension of term… for a further period of 18 months with effect from September 1 (2020) up to February 28, 2022, or until further orders, whichever is earlier,” the finance ministry said in a notification on Wednesday.
This a second extension to the 62-year-old Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Himachal Pradesh cadre. His first threeyear term was to end on
February 28, 2020. The government had then given a sixmonth extension till August 31.
Market observers say both extensions were critical, given the uncertainty caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The latest extension gives Tyagi a long rope to undertake key stock market reforms, they said.
Tyagi is known to have worked through the pandemic despite the strict lockdown in Mumbai, where Sebi is headquartered. The regulator is credited with ensuring the smooth functioning of the markets this year despite unprecedented volatility, especially in March when indices had crashed amid a global selloff.
It has been learnt that the government cancelled formal interviews, scheduled last month, to select Tyagi’s successor. He took over as Sebi chief in 2017 for a three-year term.
Tyagi’s predecessor UK Sinha, who was initially appointed for a three-year term, was also given multiple extensions. He remained at the helm for six years — from 2011 to 2017.
Sandeep Parekh, founder, Finsec Law Advisors, said: “Tyagi’s Sebi has been a great organisation, with a lot of competent senior people supporting his distinctive way of regulation. Whole-time members Madhabi Buch and G Mahalingam have been fiercely independent and highly competent. He has been low-key and has high integrity and is known for policymaking, which is very data-driven.”
Parekh said Tyagi’s weak point has been the initiation of too many enforcement proceedings, leading to delays.
He was instrumental in executing the new corporate governance code for mutual funds, aimed at improving transparency and bringing down the cost. The regulator concluded several high profile cases under him.
The senior bureaucrat has also raised voice against certain decisions of the government, such as transferring 75 per cent of the surplus fund to the government kitty, and on the proposal of amending minimum public's shareholding norms.
He had played a key role in merging Sebi with the erstwhile commodity regulator Forward Markets Commission.
He was a joint secretary in the ministry of environment and forests, before joining the finance ministry in November 2014 as additional secretary. During that time, he had spearheaded FDI reforms and measures.