Centre Appoints Finance Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey as New Chairman of SEBI

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has officially approved Finance Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey as the next Chairman of SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India), confirming an earlier CNBC-TV18 report. Pandey will take on the role for an initial term of three years.

According to the government order, "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 position of Chairman, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), initially for a tenure of three years from the date of assuming charge, or until further orders, whichever comes first."

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Previously, CNBC-TV18 had reported that Pandey was among the contenders for the SEBI chairmanship. Other names in consideration included Ajay Seth (Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs), Pankaj Jain (Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas), and KC Varshney (Whole-Time Member, SEBI).

The government had invited applications for the post in January, setting February 17, 2025, as the deadline for submissions.

The current SEBI Chairperson, Madhabi Puri Buch, will complete her tenure on March 1, 2025. She took office on March 2, 2022, making history as SEBI’s first female chairperson. Buch succeeded Ajay Tyagi, who served a five-year term (2017–2022), following UK Sinha, who led SEBI for six years.

Who is Tuhin Kanta Pandey?

A 1987-batch IAS officer from the Odisha cadre, Pandey will step down as Finance and Revenue Secretary to assume the SEBI role. His tenure as Revenue Secretary, though short (less than two months), was impactful—he played a significant part in revising income tax slabs and customs duty structures under the latest budget. He was also instrumental in drafting the new Income Tax Bill, currently under parliamentary review. Pandey officially took charge as Revenue Secretary on January 9, 2025.

Before this role, he was Secretary of the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), where he played a crucial role in the Air India disinvestment and the listing of LIC. His leadership extended across multiple departments, including DIPAM (since October 24, 2019), the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) (since August 1, 2024), and the Department of Personnel and Training (since November 4, 2024)—both DPE and DIPAM operate under the Ministry of Finance.

A Seasoned Bureaucrat with a Strong Economic Background

Pandey holds a Master’s degree in Economics from Punjab University, Chandigarh, and an MBA from the UK. Throughout his career, he has held key administrative positions in both the Central Government and the Odisha State Government. He also had an assignment with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO).

At the national level, his previous roles included:

• Joint Secretary in the Planning Commission (now NITI Aayog)
• Joint Secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat
• Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce

In Odisha, he led multiple departments, including Health, General Administration, Commercial Taxes, Transport, and Finance. Additionally, he served as Executive Director of the Odisha State Finance Corporation and Managing Director of the Odisha Small Industries Corporation.