SEBI to increase its physical footprint, may open local offices again, says Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey

SEBI to increase its physical footprint, may open local offices again, says Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is looking to increase its physical presence again by opening its local offices in various parts of the country, said SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey.

“I think to some extent, physical, our footprints have, you know, gone down in the last few years. We have to probably ramp up. We have to have review. Because for whatever we might say about the electronic campaign and so on. But there is also a lot of merit in being there on the ground. And India is a vast diverse country and lots and lots of investors are now coming from smaller centres, tier two cities, tier three cities.," said Pandey.

Pandey emphasised the need for physical presence so that a better connect for investor awareness can be established. So that people in the various parts of the country can get the information in languages they understand.

Pandey further said, “I have gone around and seen and talked to the people, talked to regional officers. We need language specific, you know, people who are going and talking in their own languages”.

“We need, you know, language knowing people that, you know, if you are operating in Odisha. So, we are knowing people to interact because that's how you communicate much better,” he said. He also highlighted the importance of digital programs and interpersonal things for an effective investor awareness.

SEBI had earlier 17 local offices majorly in the state capitals and few offices for specific local office for select regions. But, in March 2023 as part of restructuring and reorganising, SEBI board approved the closure of local offices in a phased manner. First, Jammu, Shimla, Dehradun and Panaji were closed. Later Bangalore, Patna, Jaipur, Kochi, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar, Guwahati, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Raipur, Hyderabad and Vijayawada were also shut down. Local office of Indore survived.  Though regional officer at Delhi, Ahmedabad, Kolkata and Chennai were retained.

Post-restructuring exercise, various functions relating to vetting of offer documents filed for issuances, registration of intermediaries, work relating to post inspection exercises or scrutiny with respect to intermediaries were centralised. SEBI, at that point of time, was of the view that digital presence has increased and investors from across 99 per cent of pin codes are participating in the market. To deal with investor related issues, SEBI encouraged exchanges to open Investor Service Centres across country. So, their issues can be resolved at local level.