The Union government on Thursday appointed Finance Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey as the 11th chairman of the capital market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
The Odisha-cadre Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer would replace Madhabi Puri Buch, who completes her three-year tenure on Friday (February 28).
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Pandey, IAS (OR:1987), Finance Secretary and Secretary, Department of Revenue, to the post of SEBI chairman, according to a government order issued late on Thursday evening.
Pandey's appointment is initially for a period of three years from the day he assumes charge, the order said.
Pandey will take over as the head of the SEBI at a time when markets are witnessing bear pressure following a withdrawal by foreign institutional investors (FIIs). Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have withdrawn more than Rs 1 lakh crore since January.
The 1987-batch IAS officer is the senior-most officer in the ministry of finance handling the department of revenue.
Pandey was the longest-serving secretary in the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), a department in the finance ministry that manages government equity in public sector companies, as well as the eepartment of public enterprises (DPE).
He assumed the charge of the revenue department on January 9, after his predecessor Sanjay Malhotra moved to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as its governor. Pandey played a key role in the framing of the 2025-26 Budget, which gave tax reliefs totalling Rs 1 lakh crore to the middle class. He was also involved in the drafting of the new Income Tax Bill, which seeks to replace the 64-year-old Income Tax Act, 1961.
In his over-five-year stint (October 24, 2019 to January 8, 2025) at the DIPAM, Pandey took forward disinvestments of CPSEs as he implemented the public sector enterprises (PSE) policy, which intended to minimise the presence of the government in the PSEs across all sectors of the economy.
Pandey was instrumental in the privatisation of Air India. On October 8, 2021, the government declared the Tata group as the winning bidder for Air India.
The conglomerate had put in bids of Rs 18,000 crore. On January 27, 2022, the Tata group took the ownership of Air India.
Pandey also oversaw the privatisation plans of the IDBI Bank. The bidders are currently undergoing the due-diligence process.
Pandey holds an MA in economics from the Punjab University, Chandigarh and an MBA from the University of Birmingham (UK). He has worked in various capacities in the government of Odisha and the government of India.
In the early part of his career, Pandey served as the administrative head in the departments of health, general administration, commercial taxes, transport and finance. He also served as the executive director of the Odisha State Finance Corporation and managing director of the Odisha Small Industries Corporation.
At the Centre, his previous positions include Joint Secretary, Planning Commission (now NITI Aayog), Joint Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat and Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce.
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