The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance is finalizing its report on the Securities Market Code Bill, aiming for submission in the first week of the Monsoon Session. The committee recently reviewed 157 clauses and incorporated over 85 suggestions from stakeholders including SEBI and the RBI.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance is in the final stages of preparing its report on the proposed Securities Market Code Bill. During a recent meeting, the committee sought final clarifications from the Economic Affairs Secretary regarding 26 outstanding clauses that remain to be addressed before the draft is complete.
The committee, led by Chairman Bhartruhari Mahtab, plans to submit its formal recommendations to Parliament during the first week of the upcoming Monsoon Session. While the panel discussed the current draft in its recent session, it chose to hold off on formal adoption until these remaining clauses are fully integrated. A follow-up meeting is scheduled for next Tuesday to finalize and adopt the report.
This legislative process involves significant changes to the original draft. The committee conducted an extensive review involving 157 distinct clauses. Throughout this process, various stakeholders—including the Reserve Bank of India, the Securities and Exchange Board of India, stock exchanges, professional bodies like chartered accountants, and investor groups—submitted approximately 1,000 suggestions. The government has reportedly accepted more than 85 of these recommendations, leading to substantial revisions in the bill's structure.
For investors and market participants, this bill is a major piece of legislation intended to consolidate and modernize securities laws. The primary objective is to streamline the regulatory framework governing the Indian capital markets. By consolidating various acts into a single code, the government aims to reduce regulatory overlaps and improve clarity for market entities, intermediaries, and individual investors.
The final version of the bill will be closely tracked as it outlines the future legal landscape for market operations. Investors may watch for how these new rules impact the powers of regulatory bodies, the process for investor grievance redressal, and the overall compliance requirements for listed companies. The next critical update will be the formal presentation of the committee's report to Parliament, which will reveal the final recommended changes and the government's path forward for implementation.