We’ll seek private varsity status for NISM: Sebi Chief U K Sinha

Sebi chairman UK Sinha on Saturday said that it will apply for a private university status for the National Institute of Securities Markets (NISM), which is an initiative to create a cadre of trained market professionals. The proposal can be taken up by the state (Maharashtra) government in the budget session of the assembly, he added. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the new NISM campus at Patalganga, Raigad district, near Mumbai. Speaking at the inauguration, Sinha said, “going forward, the intention is to take help of the state (Maharashtra) government and to create a private university here”.

Responding to the proposal, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said, “Sebi wants to transform the NISM into a university and I want to tell the Sebi chief that if we closely work together we can pass this law in the budget session of the state assembly.”  So far, the institute was operating from its campus at Vashi in Navi Mumbai. The new campus was established as the Vashi facility turned to be inadequate to meet its growing requirements.

The 70-acre new campus in the industrial township of Patalganga, where Reliance Industries has a large facility, has a potential to accommodate 5,000 students and the Sebi has invested over Rs 400 crore in building the institute. At present, the campus can accommodate about 1,000 residential participants in various training programmes. It will help NISM widen its activities and also cater to the growing demand for qualified securities market professionals.

The market watchdog is also in the process to get recognition from AICTE (All-India Council for Technical Education), which is the statutory body which recognises professional courses. While Sebi has introduced far-reaching reforms over the past 25 years through various regulatory changes, one of the major challenges faced by the securities market today is lack of adequate qualified securities market professionals.

There is high demand for qualified securities markets professionals who are well-informed, conversant with global trends and willing to swiftly adapt to changes. NISM, established by Sebi, is engaged in capacity building among stakeholders in the securities markets through financial literacy, professional education, certification, enhancing governance standards and fostering policy research.

The NISM runs its activities through six schools of excellence -- School for Investor Education and Financial Literacy, School for Certification of Intermediaries, School for Securities Information and Research, School for Regulatory Studies and Supervision, School for Corporate Governance and School for Securities Education. Through these schools, NISM caters to educational needs of various constituencies such as investors, issuers, intermediaries, regulatory staff, policy makers, academia and future professionals of securities markets.

The institute develops and conducts mandatory certification exams and continuing professional educational programmes for various segments of the securities markets. Around 1.5 lakh candidates sit for these examinations annually and over 5 lakh have been certified by NISM till date.