Tensions At SEBI Again? Officials Reportedly Oppose External Candidate As ED

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New Delhi: At a time when serious questions are being asked about a slew of serious allegations against Securities and Exchange Board of India Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch, another top-level appointment at the country's capital market regulator is learned to be raising eyebrows. Shikha Gupta, former head of taxation at Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), is likely to be appointed as Executive Director (ED) at the market regulator, sources told Zee Business. 

Several SEBI officers and employees are learned to have opposed the choice of Gupta's name as an external candidate for the post. "There seems to be a lot of dissatisfaction among SEBI officers and employees regarding this appointment," according to the sources.

Sebi workers want one of the several internal aspirants available to be considered for the post, the sources said.  Questions are also being raised about the correction between Gupta and the current Chairperson Buch, whose husband Dhaval Buch has served at the private sector FMCG giant for years. 

This is not the first time such a situation has arisen.  In 2022, a similar situation was observed when ICICI Bank's Pramod Rao was named Executive Director at the regulator. ICICI Bank is where Buch served the longest stint in her career.  (This story has been taken from ZeeBusiness.)