Approximately 700 employees from groups A, B, and C of India's market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), are set to stage a protest at the regulator's head office, SEBI Bhavan One, in Mumbai on Monday.
As per media reports, the protest is reportedly fueled by growing discontentment with the organisation's leadership, which has been building up over the last two and a half years. Employees are particularly dissatisfied with the allowances provided by SEBI, which they claim have not been updated to match those given to officers at the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Another point of contention is SEBI's new system for uploading Key Result Areas (KRAs), which are goals or targets set by the company or official for tracking progress. This system reportedly comes with threats of stopping allowances for non-compliance, adding to the employees' frustration.
Despite SEBI circulating a follow-up apology email to its employees, the agitation within the organisation has continued. The report suggests that mistrust within SEBI is a broader issue, extending beyond the specific grievances about allowances and the KRA system.
Global Market Turmoil
The planned protest at SEBI comes at a time of significant turmoil in global markets, which are crashing due to fears of a recession in the US.
In India, all sectoral indices, except for pharma and healthcare, closed in the red after Friday's trading session. The benchmark BSE Sensex fell by 885.60 points, or 1.08 per cent, closing at 80,981.95. The NSE Nifty dropped by 293.20 points, or 1.17 per cent, closing at 24,717.70.
In the US, the S&P 500 fell by 2.5 per cent in midday trading, approaching its lowest point since 2022. The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased by 2.4 per cent, or 954 points, by 11:30 a.m. Eastern time. The Nasdaq composite plummeted 2.9 per cent, and the Russell 2000 index plunged by 4.2 per cent, which was more than the rest of the market.
Asian markets also experienced significant declines. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell by 5.8 per cent to its lowest close since January, while the Topix tumbled 6.1 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 2.1 per cent, Australia’s ASX fell 2.5 per cent, Germany’s DAX lost 2 per cent, and France’s CAC 40 dropped over 1 per cent, hitting the lowest point since last November.
The protest by SEBI employees highlights internal challenges within India's market regulator, adding to the broader context of economic uncertainty and market volatility on a global scale.
