Q.Justify the following statement.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is the regulator for the securities market in India.

The statement is justified. SEBI was established as the statutory authority under the SEBI Act, 1992 to regulate and develop the securities market and to protect investors. It supervises stock exchanges, registers and controls intermediaries, and curbs unfair and fraudulent practices, which makes it the true regulator of the securities market in India.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) was set up in 1988 and given statutory status through the SEBI Act, 1992. It is the apex body that governs the entire securities market of India. The statement is justified for the following reasons:

• Statutory regulator: SEBI is a legally empowered body whose main objective is to protect the interests of investors and to regulate and develop the securities market.
• Protection of investors: It safeguards investors against misleading, fraudulent and unfair trade practices, and educates them about the market.
• Regulation of stock exchanges: SEBI controls and supervises the working of stock exchanges and ensures fair, transparent trading.
• Registration and control of intermediaries: Brokers, sub-brokers, merchant bankers, depositories, mutual funds and other market intermediaries must be registered with SEBI and function under its rules.
• Prohibition of malpractices: It checks insider trading, price rigging and other fraudulent and unfair practices in the market. …