Perhaps, SEBI Needs To Be More Muscular, Says Chairman Ajay Tyagi

The Securities and Exchange Board of India Chairman Ajay Tyagi on Wednesday said the regulator has always adopted a prudent and discussion-based approach on all issues but it "perhaps needs to be more muscular" to build trust among whistleblowers to reach out to it.

The remarks come in the wake of a whistleblower approaching U.S. watchdog Securities and Exchange Commission with a complaint against information technology company Infosys instead of SEBI. Infosys is also listed in the U.S.

"Our approach has to be prudent, to have discussions with the market participants on each issue. I don't want to boast, but we will go through with consultative process on intermediaries, on market participants and we will follow the process as to what needs to be done," he said.

Speaking to reporters after SEBI’s board meeting in Mumbai, Tyagi also said that last year, there have been events where any regulator would have looked into issues very seriously and lapses that needed to be corrected. "We don't have to be muscular....or anything," he remarked to a query about perception that SEBI is muscular.

To a question about a recent instance of a whistleblower approaching the regulator of another country with a complaint, Tyagi said there is no answer but that might be contradicting the view that SEBI is very muscular.

"Why would anyone approach other regulator? I have no answer to that, but perhaps that is contradicting your view that SEBI is very muscular. Perhaps, SEBI needs to be more muscular to have the trust built in those people that they should in fact make a reference to SEBI," he noted.

SEBI is looking into the whistleblower complaint of alleged lapses at Infosys.

According to Tyagi, the regulator has taken a lot of steps to expedite cases.

"We have four members, 12 sanctioned posts of CGMs (Chief General Managers) as adjudicating officers and we take this quasi judicial work really seriously. There have been delays in the past, but if you see the disposals in the last one-and-half to two years, that has definitely improved from earlier years," he said.