Government appoints IRS Officer Sandip Pradhan as SEBI Whole-Time Member

The government has appointed Indian Revenue Service officer Sandip Pradhan as Whole Time Member (WTM) of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The appointment was notified through a gazette notification by the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance.

"The Central Government hereby appoints Shri Sandip Pradhan, IRS (IT:1990), Director General of Income Tax (Investigation), Pune, as Whole Time Member of the Securities and Exchange Board of India," the gazette notification read.

The appointment of Pradhan as a Whole-Time Member (WTM) of SEBI comes at a time when the regulator has been functioning with fewer members than required. His selection fills the position that became vacant after Ashwani Bhatia completed his three-year term on May 31. Bhatia, who had earlier retired as a managing director before joining SEBI, played an important role during his time as WTM.

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However, another WTM seat at SEBI is still empty. This vacancy arose when Ananth Narayan G stepped down on October 9 after finishing his own three-year term.

During Narayan’s tenure, he worked on reforms related to the original market and was responsible for passing the order involving Jane Street, which was charged with distorting an index. His exit increased the pressure on SEBI to fill the remaining vacant leadership positions.

SEBI normally has four Whole-Time Members, each responsible for handling important regulatory, supervisory, and enforcement functions across different sectors of the securities market.

Presently, only two WTMs—Amarjeet Singh and Kamlesh Chandra Varshney—are serving. Pradhan’s addition brings the stability to three, though one seat will still remain open until a new appointment is made. Notably, both Pradhan and Varshney belong to the 1990 batch of the Indian Revenue Service, making this the first time two IRS officers from the same batch will serve together as WTMs at SEBI.departme

Pradhan also brings experience from outside the financial world. He graduated from IIT Kanpur and has worked thoroughly in sports administration.

He spent more than five years as the Director General of the Sports Authority of India. He also served as the CEO of the Khelo India initiative, a national program designed to promote sports participation and nurture young talent.