Market watchdog Sebi opens office in Lucknow

Market watchdog Sebi on Firday opened an office in Lucknow as part of its efforts to reach out to investors and intermediaries.

The new office will cater to regulatory aspects of investor protection among other issues.

Rajeev Kumar Agarwal, Whole Time Member of Sebi, inaugurated the Lucknow office, in the presence of S Ravindran, Executive Director at Sebi, the market watchdog said in a statement. The Securities and Exchange Board of India's mandate given by Parliament is threefold - protection of the interests of the investors in securities, regulation of the securities market and development of the securities market.

In order to facilitate better reach of investors and intermediaries to Sebi, it was decided to open local offices in major cities of the country, the statement said. The jurisdiction of the local Office at Lucknow extends to the state of Uttar Pradesh. It is under the administrative control and jurisdiction of Sebi's Regional Office at New Delhi.

"The functions of the Lucknow local Office includes facilitating the redressal of investor grievances against listed companies and market intermediaries, spread investor education and financial literacy, processing the applications for investment advisers within its jurisdiction and such other functions as may be delegated from time to time to the local offices," Sebi said.