News: The Pratyush Sinha Committee is in the news after SEBI asked it to review conflict-of-interest and disclosure rules following allegations against its former chief.
About Pratyush Sinha Committee
- The Pratyush Sinha Committee is a High-Level Committee that was set up to review conflicts of interest and the disclosure framework for board members.
- Formed by: It was formed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in March 2025.
- Objectives: The committee was formed to assess SEBI’s framework on conflicts of interest and disclosure of interests and to propose reforms that improve transparency, accountability, and ethical conduct.
- Key Recommendations
- Public disclosure of assets and liabilities: The chairman, whole-time members, and senior SEBI employees must publicly disclose their assets and liabilities to increase transparency.
- Uniform investment restrictions and insider status: The chairman and whole-time members should face the same investment and trading restrictions as employees, and they should be treated as insiders.
- Wider definition of family for conflict checks: The definition of family should be expanded so that more related persons are covered while assessing conflicts of interest.
- Strengthened recusal framework: SEBI should follow a clear recusal framework and publish a summary of recusals in its Annual Report.
- Secure whistle-blower mechanism: A secure, confidential, and anonymous whistle-blower system should be created with safeguards against retaliation.
- Post-retirement appearance restrictions: Former members and employees should not appear before or against SEBI in key matters for two years after leaving.
- New ethics and compliance structure: An Office of Ethics and Compliance and an Oversight Committee on Ethics and Compliance should be set up.
- Technology-based conflict detection system: SEBI should build an advanced system using technology, including artificial intelligence and data analytics, to prevent and detect conflicts of interest.
- Committee Members
- The committee was chaired by Pratyush Sinha, a retired IAS officer and former Chief Vigilance Commissioner.
- Other members included Injeti Srinivas, Uday Kotak, G Mahalingam, Sarit Jafa, and R Narayanaswamy.
