‘Investor awareness becomes more important than ever’

Ananth Narayan G describes his three-year tenure as whole-time member of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) as a privilege that allowed him to make an impact on a larger canvas.

- Ananth Narayan G

The former trader, who stepped down earlier this month, urged more private-sector professionals to take up regulatory roles. In a fireside chat with Khushboo Tiwari, he said derivatives play a vital role in the markets, though retail investor losses remain a concern. Edited excerpts:

How was your experience working at Sebi?

It was an absolute privilege to be able to make an impact on a larger canvas. For those of you working on the frontlines of India’s capital markets, across any part of the ecosystem, I would urge you to consider stepping into policymaking at some stage. We need many more practitioners to cross over — even temporarily — to experience this side of the table. The policymaking ecosystem, especially at Sebi, deeply benefits from the perspective of practitioners. Each domain that Sebi oversees is highly specialised and demands deep domain expertise.

Why do voices from the private sector matter?

A healthy blend of practitioners and people with sound judgement is essential. We need such diversity to evaluate feedback effectively and minimise both “type 1” and “type 2” errors. Of course, when practitioners like me join a regulator, questions around conflict of interest are inevitable — and valid. To address that, Sebi has set up a high-level committee to define disclosure frameworks, outline rules on recusals, and frame codes of conduct for whole-time members, the chairman, and employees. This is a progressive step towards greater clarity and integrity.