Course correction?

The tenure of the much controversial sebi chief Mrs madhabi puri butch ends today and as expected the government has decided against extending her term and declared 1987 batch Ias officer Shri Tuhin Kumar pandey as her successor. This is a return to the norm of nominating officers to the post and Mrs Butch’s term would be seen as an exception. Her term was marred by allegations of conflict of interests and insider trading including revelations by the US short seller Hindenburg concerning her relations with the adani group.The government as usual brazened it out While the Indian security markets suffered some loss of credibility the government maintained its tough guy image. Shri pandey has a tough time ahead. Restoring the credibility of the board and managing the free fall in its indices by at least appearing to be independent is his first challenge. The trump administration’s aggressive approach to trade will also be a factor. Mr pandey with long experience as revenue and finance secretary seems otherwise fit for the role.