SEBI approves Ashok Chawla as NSE chairman

Ashok Chawla, the former chief of fair trade regulator Competition Commission of India (CCI), has become the chairman of the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

Capital market watchdog SEBI has approved the appointment and Mr. Chawla’s tenure as chairman would be till March 27, 2019, an NSE spokesperson said on Friday.

Last month, the leading bourse had inducted Mr. Chawla into its board as a Public Interest Director.

“With the approval of SEBI, the Board of Directors of NSE has elected Ashok Chawla as the Chairman. The appointment is effective from May 3 and is valid till March 27, 2019,” the spokesperson said.

An experienced civil servant, Mr. Chawla retired as CCI chairman in January after being at the helm for nearly five years. He has also served as Finance Secretary and Civil Aviation Secretary, among other posts.

In February, Mr. Chawla was appointed as chairman of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and as Additional Director by Yes Bank in March. The private sector lender had also said that it has applied to RBI for approval to appoint Mr. Chawla as next non-executive chairman.

At NSE, four Public Interest Directors — S.B. Mathur, Y.H. Malegam, K.R.S. Murthy and S. Sadagopan — completed their terms recently. Mr. Mathur was the bourse’s chairman.