Ashok Chawla to become National Stock Exchange Chairman

Ashok Chawla, former chief of Competition Commission, will be the new chairman of National Stock Exchange subject to approval from market watchdog Sebi.

Earlier this month, NSE announced the induction of Chawla and Dharmishta Raval into its board as public interest directors.

The exchange is now awaiting nod from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for appointing Chawla as the chairman.

When contacted, the exchange's spokesperson said its Nomination and Remuneration Committee (NRC) has proposed the name of Chawla as chairman and is awaiting Sebi's approval.

An experienced civil servant, Chawla retired as Competition Commission of India (CCI) chairman in January after being at the helm for nearly five years. He has also served as Finance Secretary and Civil Aviation Secretary, among other posts.

In February this year, Chawla was appointed as chairman of TERI and as additional director by Yes Bank in March. The private sector lender had also said that it has applied to RBI for approval to appoint Chawla as next non-executive chairman.

At NSE, four public interest directors -- S B Mathur, Y H Malegam, K R S Murthy and S Sadagopan -- completed their terms recently. Mathur was the bourse's chairman.

A leading exchange, NSE has been in existence for 20 years and its flagship index Nifty50 is used extensively by investors in India and overseas.