SEBI selects internal candidates for appointment as EDs

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has selected two internal candidates to fill the post of executive directors (ED). V S Sundaresan and Babita Rayudu have been selected for the post of ED General and ED Legal respectively, sources said.

SEBI  received 15 applications from outside, but the regulator did not find any outsider fit for the post, the sources said.

Most of the applications were for the post of ED legal. Chief General Manager Babita Rayudu, Suresh Menon, G P Garg and V S Sundaresan were some of the internal names that were in the race for the ED posts.

The ED Legal position in SEBI was created about two or three years ago. Earlier, there was no such position as SEBI mainly worked with three EDs, who were not categorised into any particular stream. Officials who moved to SEBI after the merger of the commodity regulator FMC, were appointed as EDs. Seven officials currently hold the post of ED.

SEBI had been postponing the interview for the post of ED legal for many months, citing the lack of external candidates.

The fact that the current SEBI Chairman Ajay Tyagi is likely to get another two-year extension, has also perked up the mood at SEBI as there would be continuity in policies, the source said.

Tyagi’s term as SEBI Chairman was to end in February 2020. Initially, the Finance Ministry had approved Tyagi for a five-year term, but the Prime Minister's Office reduced it to three years.

The Chairman is now likely to get an extension, considering the fact that SEBI’s whole-time members have a five-year term, sources said.