Overview
- The proposal consolidates the SEBI Act, the Depositories Act, and the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act into a single, principle‑based code aimed at investor protection and capital mobilisation.
- SEBI’s board size would rise to as many as 15 members, with stricter conflict‑of‑interest disclosures and explicit grounds to remove members whose interests could prejudice their functions.
- Enforcement would be revamped by separating investigations from adjudication, setting timelines for probes and interim orders, and converting minor and technical breaches into civil penalties while keeping crimes for market abuse, defiance of orders, and non‑cooperation.
- SEBI could delegate parts of registration to Market Infrastructure Institutions and Self‑Regulatory Organisations, run a regulatory sandbox, and enable inter‑regulatory coordination for listing other regulated instruments.
- Investor protections include a mandatory investor charter, a statutory grievance mechanism with Ombudspersons, and a new rule directing 25% of SEBI’s surplus to a reserve fund with the remainder transferred to the Consolidated Fund of India.