RAS question
SEBI was established as a statutory body in:
Correct answer: (D) 1992.
SEBI was established as a statutory body in 1992 under the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992.
Explanation
SEBI’s statutory status dates to 1992, not to its first creation in 1988. The official SEBI history says the Securities and Exchange Board of India was constituted on April 12, 1988 as a non-statutory body through a Government of India resolution. It then became a statutory body in 1992, when the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 was brought into force; SEBI’s page specifically notes that the Act’s provisions came into force on January 30, 1992. This is why the exam answer is 1992: 1988 marks SEBI’s non-statutory beginning, while the legal, statutory footing came through the 1992 Act.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) 1988 marks SEBI’s initial constitution as a non-statutory body through a Government of India resolution, not its statutory establishment.
- (B) 1996 is too late because SEBI had already become a statutory body under the SEBI Act, 1992.
- (C) 2000 is also too late, as SEBI’s statutory status had existed since 1992.
Concept
This tests institutional chronology in Indian Economy, especially how regulators acquire statutory authority. RAS often asks such dates because they separate administrative creation from legal empowerment.