Tuhin Kanta Pandey Takes Over as SEBI’s 11th Chairman, Know About the New Chief

Sebi New Chairman: On Thursday, Finance Secretary and IAS Officer Tuhin Kanta Pandey was appointed as the 11th chairman of Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) by the government. He will be replacing Madhabi Puri Buch, whose three-year tenure ends today.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Shri Tuhin Kanta Pandey, IAS (OR:1987), finance secretary and secretary, department of revenue to the post of Chairman, Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), initially for a period of three years from the date of assumption of charge of the post or until further orders, whichever is earlier, the official document read.

Pandey will take over as the head of the SEBI at a time when markets are witnessing bear pressure following a withdrawal by foreign institutional investors (FIIs). Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have withdrawn more than Rs 1 lakh crore since January.

Here's everything you need to know about the new chief-

The 1987-batch IAS officer is the senior most officer in the Ministry of Finance handling the Department of Revenue.

Pandey was the longest-serving secretary in the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), a department in the finance ministry that manages government equity in public sector companies, as well as the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE).

Pandey’s Key Role in Budget

He assumed the charge of the revenue department on January 9, after his predecessor Sanjay Malhotra moved to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as its governor. Pandey played a key role in the framing of the 2025-26 Budget, which gave tax reliefs totalling Rs 1 lakh crore to the middle class. He was also involved in the drafting of the new Income Tax Bill, which seeks to replace the 64-year-old Income Tax Act, 1961.

In his over-five-year stint (October 24, 2019 to January 8, 2025) at the DIPAM, Pandey took forward disinvestments of CPSEs as he implemented the public sector enterprises (PSE) policy, which intended to minimise the presence of the government in the PSEs across all sectors of the economy.

Pandey was instrumental in the privatisation of Air India. On October 8, 2021, the government declared the Tata group as the winning bidder for Air India.

The conglomerate had put in bids of Rs 18,000 crore. On January 27, 2022, the Tata group took the ownership of Air India.

Pandey also oversaw the privatisation plans of the IDBI Bank. The bidders are currently undergoing the due-diligence process.

Tuhin Kanta Pandey’s Qualifications

Pandey holds an MA in economics from the Punjab University, Chandigarh and an MBA from the University of Birmingham (UK). He has worked in various capacities in the government of Odisha and the government of India.

In the early part of his career, Pandey served as the administrative head in the departments of health, general administration, commercial taxes, transport and finance. He also served as the executive director of the Odisha State Finance Corporation and managing director of the Odisha Small Industries Corporation.

At the Centre, his previous positions include Joint Secretary, Planning Commission (now NITI Aayog), Joint Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat and Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce.

(With inputs from PTI)