REGULATORY RESET

Former Finance Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey's appointment as the new Sebi chief is expected to bring some calm amid turbulent market conditions

- BY RIDDHIMA BHATNAGAR & SURABHI

Soon after taking charge as the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), Tuhin Kanta Pandey identified four key objectives—trust, transparency, teamwork, and technology. A career bureaucrat, Pandey replaces Madhabi Puri Buch, whose tenure was marked by controversy.

Pandey's former colleagues in New Delhi believe that his long stint in the finance ministry will come in handy in his new job. “He is soft spoken but that does not deter him from conveying his views. He works with the team and leads by example,” says a government official.

A 1987 batch officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) from the Odisha cadre, Pandey saw his fair share of challenges during his stints in the finance ministry, first as secretary, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), and later when he had additional charge of the Department of Public Enterprises, before taking over as finance secretary and revenue secretary.

As DIPAM secretary from October 2019 to January 2025, Pandey led a few significant initiatives like the mega listing of public sector insurer Life Insurance Corporation of India, privatisation of Air India and Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd. and overseeing the ongoing disinvestment of IDBI Bank. He was also instrumental in fine-tuning the government's disinvestment strategy—a shift from viewing public sector units as cash cows to making them a force to reckon with.