Cseet current affairs - National bodies- MCQ - part 3

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE BOARD OF INDIA (SEBI)

The Securities and Exchange Board of India was established on April 12, 1992 in accordance with the provisions of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992.

ThePreamble of the Securities and Exchange Board of India describes the basic functions of the Securities and Exchange Board of India as “...to protect the interests of investors in securities and to promote the development of,and to regulate the securities market and for matters connected there with or incidental thereto”

SEBI in news

SEBI launches information database on municipal bonds (January 22, 2023)

SEBI to extend trading hours in case of outage at stock exchanges (January 09, 2023)

SEBI has issued guidelines for extension of trading hours in case of an outage at a stock exchange along with standard operating procedures for stock exchanges for handling such an outage.

Issue and listing of Commercial Paper by listed REITs/InvITs (September 22, 2022)

SEBI vide its two separate circulars has provided that, REITs/InvITs may issue listed commercial papers subject to that REITs/InvITs shall abide by the guidelines prescribed by Reserve Bank of India for issuances of commercial papers and shall abide by the conditions of listing norms prescribed by SEBI under SEBI (Issue and Listingof Non-Convertible Securities) Regulations, 2021 and circulars issued thereunder.

SEBI joins RBI’s account aggregator ecosystem (August 19, 2022)

Capital markets regulator SEBI joined the account aggregator framework, a move that will give a boost to the Reserve Bank of India-regulated financial-data sharing system. The move will allow customers to share information about their mutual fund and stock holdings with financial service providers.

Guidelines for overseas investment by Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) / Venture Capital Funds (VCFs) (August 17, 2022) In terms of Regulation 12(ba) of erstwhile SEBI (Venture Capital Funds) Regulations 1996 and Regulation 15(1)(a) of SEBI (Alternative Investment Funds) Regulations, 2012, AIFs/VCFs may invest in securities of companies incorporated outside India subject to such conditions or guidelines that may be stipulated or issued by the Reserve Bank of India and SEBI from time to time. Levy of Goods & Services Tax (GST) on the fees payable to SEBI (July 18, 2022) The GST Council in its meeting held on June 28 and June 29, 2022, recommended inter alia to withdraw the exemption granted to services by SEBI and the same has been notified vide Notification No.4/2022 dated 13th July, 2022. SEBI empanels 8 entities to provide digital forensic services (July 12, 2022) Capital markets regulator SEBI empanelled eight entities, including Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu ndia LLP and Ernst & Young LLP, for providing digital forensic services. These agencies will be required to provide assistance to SEBI’s search team for onsite data acquisition during search and seizure operations. SEBI cautions investors against funds raised by unauthorised PMS providers (October 03, 2022) Investor Charter issued by SEBI Background With an objective to provide protection to investors, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Union Budget 2021-22 had proposed to introduce an investor charter as a right of all financial investors across all financial products. About Investor Charter It comprises of rights & responsibilities of investors as well as do’s & don’t’s of investing in securities market. The SEBI has brought out the Investor Charter with a vision to protect the interests of investors by enabling them to understand the risks involved and invest in a fair, transparent, secure market, and to get services in a timely and efficient manner. Rights of Investors According to Investor Charter, investors will get the right to: 1. Get fair equitable treatment 2. Expect redressal of investor grievances filed in ‘SEBI Complaints Redress System (SCORES)’ in timely manner. 3. Get quality services from SEBI recognised Market Infrastructure Institutions and SEBI registered intermediaries / regulated entities/ Asset Management Companies. Responsibilities of Investors Investors will have the responsibilities to: 1. Deal with SEBI-recognised market infrastructure institutions as well as SEBI-registered regulated entities or intermediaries.

2. Update their contact details like address, email id, mobile number, nomination and other KYC details.

3. Ensure grievances are taken up by concerned entities in time bound manner.

4. Ensure that their accounts are operated for their own benefits only.

DO’s for Investors:

• Read and understand the documents carefully before investing.

• Know about the Investor Grievance Redressal Mechanism.

• Know the risks involved before investing.

• Keep track of account statements and promptly bring any discrepancy noticed to the

concerned stock exchange, intermediary or Asset Management Company.

• Know about various fees, charges, margins, premium, etc. involved in the transactions.

• Preserve relevant transaction related documents.

DONT’s for Investors:

• Don’t make payments in cash while making any investment in securities market, beyond the

prescribed limit.

• Don’t share your critical information like account details, login ids, passwords, DIS, etc. with

anyone.

SEBI has also created a separate investor charter for stock exchanges, clearing corporations, and depositories; entities which together are known as market infrastructure institutions (MIIs).

This charter will also be applicable to the SEBI-registered intermediaries such as Investment Advisers, Research Analysts, Portfolio Managers, Mutual Funds, AIFs, Stock Brokers etc. that play a role in channelling investor funds in capital markets, as well as other SEBI-regulated entities.

COMPETITION COMMISSION OF INDIA (CCI)

The Competition Act

The Act prohibits anti-competitive agreements, abuse of dominant position by enterprises and regulates combinations (acquisition, acquiring of control and M&A), which causes or likely to cause an appreciable adverse effect on competition within India.

The Competition Commission of India - 2003

It is the duty of the Commission to eliminate practices having adverse effect on competition, promote and sustain competition, protect the interests of consumers and ensure freedom of trade in the markets of India.

The Commission is also required to give opinion on competition issues on a reference received from a statutory authority established under any law and to undertake competition advocacy, create public awareness and impart training on competition issues.

Ravneet Kaur is the Chairperson of the Commission. Sangeeta Verma and Shri Bhagwant Singh Bishnoi are the members of the Commission.

CCI in News - Competition Commission set to invoke ‘doctrine of necessity’ principle to examine M&A deals

(February 02, 2023)

In a significant move, the Competition Commission in the absence of requisite quorum will soon invoke the ‘doctrine of necessity’ principle to examine merger and acquisition deals, according to sources. Currently, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has only two members and the post of Chairperson is vacant since Mr. Ashok Kumar Gupta retired on October 25, 2022. For examining mergers and acquisitions, also known as combinations in the CCI parlance, the fair trade regulator needs a quorum of three members. Since there is a lack of quorum, many deals are awaiting approvals.

• Regional Office (West) of Competition Commission of India (CCI) in Mumbai inaugurated by Smt.

Nirmala Sitharaman, Hon’ble Union Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs (October 06, 2022)

• Approval of Combination of Tanweer Infrastructure SAOC (“Acquirer”); and Sembcorp Energy India Limited (“Target”) by CCI (December 12, 2022)

THE INSOLVENCY AND BANKRUPTCY BOARD OF INDIA (IBBI)

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India was established on 1st October, 2016 under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (Code). It is a key pillar of the ecosystem responsible for implementation of the Code that consolidates and amends the laws relating to reorganization and insolvency resolution of corporate persons, partnership firms and individuals in a time bound manner for maximization of the value of assets of such persons, to promote entrepreneurship, availability of credit and balance the interests of all the stakeholders.

It is a unique regulator which regulates a profession as well as processes. It has regulatory oversight over the Insolvency Professionals, Insolvency Professional Agencies, Insolvency Professional Entities and Information Utilities. It writes and enforces rules for processes, namely, corporate insolvency resolution, corporate liquidation, individual insolvency resolution and individual bankruptcy under the Code.

IBBI in news

Government preparing to amend insolvency law to reduce time period for resolution process (December 18, 2022)

Shri Ravi Mittal currently serves as Chairperson of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India. Shri Sudhaker Shukla and Shri Jayanti Prasad are the Whole-time members of the Board.