Sebi clears appointment of Ashish Chauhan as NSE chief

Ashish Chauhan, chief executive of BSE Ltd, will be the new chief of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE), with the markets regulator approving his appointment on Sunday.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has cleared a five-year term for Chauhan as managing director and chief executive officer, NSE, India’s largest stock exchange, said in a statement.

The appointment is subject to Chauhan accepting the offer and fulfilment of terms and conditions, including approval from the shareholders of NSE, the statement said.

Chauhan will take over at NSE once his 10-year stint at BSE ends in November, a person aware of the matter said.

The appointment comes after Vikram Limaye’s term as managing director, and chief executive officer ended on 16 July.

Limaye had decided against an extension, even though he was eligible for it.

A four-member interim committee will handle the affairs of NSE until Chauhan joins.

The committee includes Yatrik Vin, group chief financial officer and head of corporate affairs; Priya Subbaraman, chief regulatory officer; Shiv Kumar Bhasin, chief technology and operations officer; and Somasundaram K.S., chief enterprise risk officer.

Chauhan is a mechanical engineer from IIT-Bombay and an alumnus of IIM Kolkata. He started working at the Industrial Development Bank of India (now IDBI Bank) in 1991.

Chauhan is credited with modernizing financial derivatives in India and screen-based trading. He is one of the founding members of NSE, where he worked from 1992 to 2000.

Under him, the Bombay Stock Exchange has taken the leadership position in setting up a small and medium enterprises platform and introducing offer for sale and mutual fund distribution through exchanges.

While at the NSE, he was also responsible for market operations, membership, clearing and settlement, surveillance, rules, sales, marketing, information technology, and property management, among others.