In news- Recently, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) launched “Saa₹thi” (Saarthi)– a mobile app with a view to empowering investors with knowledge about the securities market.
About the app-
- The app aims to create awareness among investors about the basic concepts of the securities market.
- It explains about KYC process, trading and settlement, mutual funds (MF), recent market developments, investor grievances redressal mechanism, etc.
- It is available in Hindi and English languages and would be made available in regional languages going forward.
- With the recent surge in individual investors entering the market, and more importantly a large proportion of trading being mobile phone based, this app will be helpful in easily accessing the relevant information.
About SEBI-
- It is a statutory regulatory body established by the Government of India in 1992 to regulate the securities market in India and protect the interests of investors in securities.
- SEBI has the power to regulate and perform functions such as check the books of accounts of stock exchanges and call for periodical returns, approve by-laws of stock exchanges, inspect the books of financial intermediaries such as banks, compel certain companies to get listed on one or more stock exchanges, and handle the registration of brokers.
- It also regulates the functioning of the stock market, mutual funds, etc.
Objectives of SEBI-
- To safeguard the interest of all the parties involved in trading.
- To regulate the functioning of the stock market.
- To monitor the activities of the stock exchange.
- To safeguard the rights of the investors
- To curb fraudulent practices by maintaining a balance between statutory regulations and self-regulation.
- To define the code of conduct for the brokers, underwriters, and other intermediaries.
Powers of SEBI-
- SEBI carries out Protective functions, Regulatory functions, and Developmental functions.
- Functions that SEBI performs as a part of its protective functions are:
- It checks price manipulation.
- It bans Insider trading.
- It prohibits unfair and fraudulent trade practices.
- It promotes a fair code of conduct in the security market.
- It takes effort to educate the investors regarding ways to evaluate the investment options better.
Source: The Indian Express
