Arguing at SEBI again? Officials are reportedly expressing displeasure with an outside candidate as ED

At a time when serious questions are being asked about a series of serious allegations against Securities and Exchange Board of India Chairman Madhabi Puri Buch, another high-profile appointment to the country’s capital markets regulator has been read as an eye-opener. Shikha Gupta, former head of taxation at Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), is likely to be appointed as an Executive Director (ED) of the market regulator, sources told Zee Business.

A number of SEBI officials and employees are understood to be against the nomination of Gupta’s name as a candidate for the post.

“There seems to be a lot of dissatisfaction among SEBI officials and employees regarding this appointment,” according to sources.

Sebi officials want one of the internal job seekers to be considered for the post, sources said.

Questions are also being raised about the adjustment of circumstances between the Guptas and the current Chairman Buch, whose husband Dhaval Buch has worked in the private sector FMCG company for years.

This is not the first time such a situation has arisen.

In 2022, a similar situation was observed when Pramod Rao of ICICI Bank was appointed as the Executive Director of the regulator. ICICI Bank is where Buch has served the longest in his career.