Sebi begins search for four new executive directors

Market regulator Sebi on Thursday said it plans to induct four new executive directors, who would replace some key incumbent directors handling important departments like mutual funds and secondary markets.

Starting the process for hiring new directors, Sebi on Thursday invited applications for four posts of executive directors, including one for legal affairs.

The remaining three would be inducted for various regulatory roles at Securities and Exchange Board of India.

The new directors would be given gross emoluments of up to Rs 1,78,523 per month, besides benefits like office car, entertainment, medical telephone and mobile, insurance and other allowances, an advertisement issued by Sebi said.

A major overhaul is in the offing at Sebi, with at least six new faces expected to join in the market regulator's leadership positions over the next few months.

Besides the four new executive directors, the three-year terms of two whole-time directors, M S Sahoo and K M Abraham, are also ending next month and the government has already begun the process of finding their replacements.

These changes are happening within months of the appointment of a new Sebi Chairman, U K Sinha, in February.

While the whole-time members are recruited by the government, the positions of EDs are filled by Sebi itself. Sebi has invited applications till July 1 for the position of executive directors, who will get three-year terms.

The new directors would be recruited either on contract basis or on deputation from the government departments. The tenure is ending in next few months for three incumbent executive directors, namely K N Vaidyanathan, J N Gupta and J Ranganayakulu.

These three persons have some key portfolios under their charge. While Vaidyanathan is in charge of mutual funds, J N Gupta takes care of secondary markets

and Ranganayakulu legal affairs and enforcement departments.

The two-year term of both Vaidyanathan and Gupta would end in July, while Ranganayakulu's three-year tenure ends in August this year.

The impending changes in high-level decision making positions at Sebi are being eagerly awaited in the backdrop of a number of new regulations proposed by Sebi in the areas being handled by the incumbents, a senior official said.

Some of the major actions taken by Sebi in recent months concerned mutual fund space, while final rules are awaited on issues like new takeover norms and governance and ownership structure of stock exchanges.

The three-year terms of two whole-time directors, M S Sahoo and K M Abraham, are ending in July and the government has already begun the process of finding their replacements.

The Finance Ministry had in February invited applications till March 30 for the two positions, but later extended the deadline till April 18.

The nine-member Sebi board comprises a Chairman, three whole-time members, two independent members and three nominee directors - one each from Reserve Bank, Finance Ministry and Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

Before beginning the search process, the Finance Ministry had sought the views of former Sebi Chairman C B Bhave, and later his successor on whether the two incumbents should be granted extension.

However, it was later decided that new members should be inducted, rather than extending the tenure of existing members.

In the case of executive directors too, there were talks of granting them extension, but Sebi decided to go ahead with fresh recruitment.

Interestingly, some of the existing executive directors of Sebi had applied for the position of whole-time members.

Besides the Chairman, another change which has taken place in the Sebi board is the replacement of R Bandyopadhyay as the nominee of Corporate Affairs by Secretary in the ministry D K Mittal.