Securities Exchange Board of India
1. History
In 1988 the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) was established by the Government of India through an executive resolution, and was subsequently upgraded as a fully autonomous body (a statutory Board) in the year 1992 with the passing of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act (SEBI Act) on 30th January 1992. In place of Government Control, a statutory and autonomous regulatory board with defined responsibilities, to cover both development & regulation of the market, and independent powers have been set up. Paradoxically this is a positive outcome of the Securities Scam of 1990-91.
The basic objectives of the Board were identified as: to protect the interests of investors in securities; to promote the development of Securities Market; to regulate the securities market and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
Since its inception SEBI has been targetting the securities and is attending to the fulfillment of its objectives with commendable zeal and dexterity. The improvements in the securities markets like capitalization requirements, margining, establishment of clearing corporations etc. reduced the risk of credit and also reduced the market.
SEBI has introduced the comprehensive regulatory measures, prescribed registration norms, the eligibility criteria, the code of obligations and the code of conduct for different intermediaries like, bankers to issue, merchant bankers, brokers and sub-brokers, registrars, portfolio managers, credit rating agencies, underwriters and others. It has framed bye-laws, risk identification and risk management systems for Clearing houses of stock exchanges, surveillance system etc. which has made dealing in securities both safe and transparent to the end investor.
Another significant event is the approval of trading in stock indices (like S&P CNX Nifty & Sensex) in 2000. A market Index is a