Search the Internet          Tips  Sites: Finance, Investment

Sebi seeks more teeth in talks with JPC

The Securities and Exchange Board of India on Monday told the Joint Parliamentary Committee probing the stock scam that lacunae in early warning system in the capital market was contributory to the recent payment crisis and advocated that more teeth be given to the market regulator to remove them.

JPC chairman Shriprakash Mani Tripati told reporters that Sebi chairman D R Mehta deposing before the committee was also of the view that surveillance system, though insulated now, was largely dependent on a single individual -- executive director of the stock exchanges.

This aspect needed to be looked into to improve the surveillance over the stock exchanges, Mehta was quoted as saying by JPC chairman.

Mehta was asked to depose before JPC on the action taken by the market regulator on the recommendations of the previous JPC that went into the 1992 securities scam in a bid to find ways to prevent recurrence of such scams.

Tripati said Mehta claimed that the Stock markets have been regulated better now following the action taken on the recommendations of the 1992 JPC report.

However, "there is still no perfection," Mehta told the JPC.

Tripati said JPC members quizzed Mehta that if all the recommendations made by previous JPC regarding Sebi were implemented, then why was the stock scam not averted.

To this Mehta explained with facts and figures on how the stock exchange functioning had improved drastically in the last few years.

A lot of improvement had taken place in the functioning of stock markets but there were a few areas which needed to be plugged particularly the "timely knowledge" about the upheavals to perfect the early warning system.

Mehta also made it clear the role of Sebi was to regulate the market and not monitor it, he said.

Tripati said Mehta maintained that the behaviour of stock market was now more or less on the lines of those abroad.

JPC Chairman announced that during the intersession of Parliament, JPC would start taking evidence and to begin with officials dealing with capital markets in the finance ministry on September 11.

It would be followed by evidence of RBI on Sept 12, RBI on Sept 13. On Sept 14, there would be a technical briefing on UTI, Tripati said.

ALSO READ:
The Capital Markets Crisis