PAC to Review Regulatory Bodies Amid Controversy Surrounding SEBI Chairperson
The PAC's agenda will focus on reviewing the "Performance of Regulatory Bodies set up by Act of Parliament."
Both the Adani Group and the Buchs have denied the allegations against them.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament is set to review the operations of India’s leading regulatory agencies, with officials from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) scheduled to give testimonies on October 24.
On Friday, the PAC summoned SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and officials from the Department of Economic Affairs to appear at this meeting.
The committee also called on senior officials from the Department of Revenue to discuss goods and services tax (GST) collections and recent notices issued to companies, including IT giant Infosys.
The meeting will include representatives from the Ministry of Finance’s Department of Economic Affairs and the Ministry of Communications.
Although the heads of these agencies are usually expected to attend, PAC members have stated that senior officials will represent SEBI Chairperson Buch and TRAI Chairperson Anil Kumar Lahoti.
This review comes at an important time because SEBI Chairperson Buch is facing serious accusations from the US-based firm Hindenburg.
The firm claims there are connections between Buch, her husband Dhaval Buch, and the Adani Group, suggesting links to offshore companies involved in financial wrongdoing.
Hindenburg has also criticized SEBI for not taking action on the allegations against the Adani Group, saying, "18 months after its report on Adani, SEBI has shown little interest in pursuing charges."
Scrutiny intensified in August when the Congress party organized nationwide protests demanding Buch's resignation from SEBI.
Both the Adani Group and the Buchs have denied the allegations against them.
The PAC's agenda will focus on reviewing the "Performance of Regulatory Bodies set up by Act of Parliament."
SEBI and TRAI will give oral testimonies during this session, which aims to assess how well these institutions are doing their jobs.
The results of this meeting could greatly affect regulatory oversight in India.
The PAC is led by Congress leader KC Venugopal and includes members from both the ruling NDA and the opposition INDIA bloc.
