Sebi employees protest at HQ; demand Buch resignation
Mumbai, Sep 5: A large number of Sebi employees protested outside the capital markets regulator's headquarters on Thursday, seeking chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch's resignation.
The staffers, numbering over 200 as per an estimate, held a silent protest outside the main building in the Bandra Kurla Complex, housing Buch and other officials' offices.
None of the protesting employees spoke to the media, but a handout purported to have been drafted by the protesting officials sought the withdrawal of a press release issued by Sebi on Wednesday and also Buch's resignation.
The protesting employees assembled in front of the building and were seen standing there for about 90 minutes before dispersing.
For Puri, protests and internal issues have come at a time when she is probably facing the most challenging times in her stint. The career banker-turned-regulator is battling speculations on whether a conflict of interest made her go slow on the probe against Adani Group and a raft of other allegations around it.
This is not the first instance of a protest at the Sebi, which witnessed a similar protest over a month ago by some employees. At that time, officials had said that the protests were by a few elements and do not have the backing of the recognised unions or associations.
In what is unprecedented for any financial regulator, around 500 employees are reported to have written to the Finance Ministry on August 6 against the top management for what they called a "toxic" work environment, which includes instances of public humiliation and shouting down.
After the publishing of a media report about the letter, Sebi responded with a press release, which said such claims are "misplaced", which seems to have irked the employees.
The regulator said that some "external elements" had instigated its employees into believing that they shouldn't be held to high standards of performance and accountability, though, it did not provide specific details.
"The claims of unprofessional work culture in the letter dated August 6, 2024, are misplaced," Sebi said in a statement.
The regulator suspects that junior officers have been receiving messages from outside parties encouraging them to "go to the media, the Ministry, or the Board," possibly for the outsiders' own agendas.
"Sebi apprehends that the junior officers have been receiving messages from external elements outside their group, effectively instigating them to 'go to media, go to the Ministry, go to Board', perhaps to serve their own purpose. In fact, the letter of August 6, 2024, was not sent by the Sebi employee associations to the Government (and a section of the media)," the statement noted.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
