When US short-seller Hindenburg Research levelled a battery of allegations against the then SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) chief in 2024, the official pushback was muted and unconvincing. This episode hinted at a lack of regulatory clarity on conflicts of interest issues with regard to top SEBI officials. Therefore, it comes as a relief to see the high-level committee chaired by former Chief Vigilance Commissioner Pratyush Sinha, do a thorough job of reviewing the extant regulatory framework to deal with conflicts of interest for the SEBI Chair and Board members.

The Committee has found yawning gaps in the regulations and suggests sweeping changes. One, rules regarding conflicts for SEBI Board members are strewn across several statutes, leading to confusion. Most norms are

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