what is the securities and exchange board of india sebi 
the securities and exchange board of india sebi is the most important regulator of securities markets in india sebi is the counterpart of the securities and exchange commission sec in the u s its stated objective is to protect the interests of investors in securities and to promote the development of and to regulate the securities market and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto 1creation of the sebithe securities and exchange board of india was established in its current incarnation in april 1992 following the passage of the securities and exchange board of india act by the nation s parliament 2 it supplanted the controller of capital issues which had regulated the securities markets under the capital issues control act of 1947 passed just months before india gained independence from the british 3the sebi headquarters is located in the business district at the bandra kurla complex in mumbai it also has regional offices in the cities of new delhi kolkata chennai and ahmedabad and more than a dozen local offices in cities including bangalore jaipur guwahati patna kochi and chandigarh sebi s charteraccording to its charter sebi is expected to be responsible for three main groups the body drafts regulations and statutes in a regulatory capacity passes rulings and orders in a judicial capacity conducts investigations and imposes penalties in an enforcement capacity as an example the board banned short selling between 2001 and 2008 sebi is run by a board of directors including a chair who is elected by the parliament two officers from the ministry of finance one member from the reserve bank of india and five members who are also elected by the parliament 5criticism of sebicritics say sebi lacks transparency and is insulated from direct public accountability the only mechanisms to check its power are a securities appellate tribunal which consists of a panel of three judges and the supreme court of india both bodies have occasionally censured sebi still sebi has been aggressive at times in doling out punishment and in issuing strong reforms it also established the financial stability board in 2009 in response to the global financial crisis giving the board a broader mandate than its predecessor to promote financial stability 6