SEBI sets a one-year target to complete investigations

Capital market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) putting an end to actions getting delayed for years, has set a one-year target to complete investigations, saying that the long-drawn probe processes are a thing of past and manipulators can’t escape the long arm of the law.

SEBI is targeting not to keep any case pending for beyond a year. SEBI chairman UK Sinha has also warned market manipulators of strong action and has said that market manipulators remaining scot-free or the enforcement actions getting delayed for years are all matters of the past. He said that the regulator will always keep an upper edge over them with a robust surveillance system and safeguard mechanism for the markets and the investors.

On the issue of Mutual Funds, the regulator has said that there is a case for consolidation in the asset management industry owing to the presence of some non-serious players because of very easy entry situation, but clarity on this course will emerge only after the national mutual fund policy is put in place. SEBI has recently announced a slew of reform measures for the mutual fund industry to expand their reach across the country and also to safeguard the interest of investors. At present, there are around 40 mutual fund companies in the country.