Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has adequate internal mechanisms for addressing issues relating to conflict of interest, which include a disclosure framework and provisions for recusal, said minister of state of finance Pankaj Chaudhary on Monday.
The minister was responding to a question in the Lok Sabha on allegations against SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch with regard to conflict of interest and the action taken by the government.
“The Board of SEBI has adopted a Code on Conflict of Interests for Members of its Board, including the Chairperson, to ensure that the Board conducts itself in a manner that does not compromise its ability to accomplish its mandate or undermine the public confidence in the ability of member(s) to discharge his responsibilities,” Chaudhary further said.
The Committee on Public Accounts considered the request for exemption from personal appearance by the Chairperson, SEBI due to a sudden and unavoidable personal exigency and adjourned the meeting, the MoS also clarified.
SEBI chairperson has been in the eye of a storm over allegations over conflict of interest over her and her husband’s investments in offshore funds linked to the Adani Group. SEBI, Buch and the Adani Group have all refuted these allegations.
LIC unclaimed funds:
Meanwhile, in response to another question, the MoS said that the total unclaimed and outstanding maturity claims with Life Insurance Corporation of India have nearly doubled in the last five years to Rs 880.93 crore in FY24 from Rs 480.78 crore in FY20.
Chaudhary was responding to a question in the Lok Sabha on unclaimed funds held by LIC.
The total number of such claims has also steadily risen to 3,72,282 in FY24 from 2,43,790 in FY20, as per the data provided by him.
However, the total number of unclaimed death claims with LIC has however declined in the last five years. In FY24, LIC had 10 unclaimed death claims amounting to Rs 14 lakh as against 89 such claims worth Rs 2.02 crore in FY20.
Over the years, LIC has taken a number of measures to reduce the unclaimed and outstanding claims lying with it.