Following the publication of a study on the "toxic work culture" at the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), the capital markets regulator reiterated that the allegations made in the report are false. It further stated that the junior officers who are protesting are being misguided by "external elements." Nearly 500 Grade A Sebi officers reportedly protested to the government last month about what they described as a "hostile work environment" and the fact that "shouting, scolding, and public humiliation" had become commonplace at meetings.

Replying to the charges one by one, the capital markets regulator stated that: "SEBI is committed to ensuring that it is responsive to the market ecosystem and all its participants, both in terms of speed of approval and facilitating ease of doing business as well as in carrying out timely investigation and enforcement against wrong doing in the market. SEBI employees have been delivering this over many decades and with increasing complexity and scale of the market, they have adopted technology and new processes to continue to deliver to the markets."

It added that:  "In line with this commitment, over the last 2-3 years, the following initiatives have been taken by SEBI:

a. Quantified KRAs being set at the start of the year

b. Officer-level and team-level monthly targets set for completion of work
c. Sharp accountability for ageing and pendency from date of first receipt of applications/ reference instead of the date of receipt of the last communication.
d. Monthly MIS for early identification of problem areas for timely resolution of bottle necks, if any.
e. End of year review of performance of each department by a panel of Whole Time Members and Chairperson to facilitate reward and recognition to high performing teams and appropriate bell curve for low performing teams.
f. Promotion policy adapted to include suitability of candidates for core functions of SEBI in assessment criteria in addition to seniority and past performance.
g. Mandatory certifications for employees in line with certifications that are mandatory for market participants.
h. Quantified output based staffing, based on KRAs and transparent rules on creation of vacancies for promotion.
i. Adoption of technology to improve productivity across the organization.

The claims of unprofessional work culture in the letter dated August 06, 2024, are misplaced and seem to stem from instances such as:
a. Under-pitching of processing capability of officers by as low as 1/4th of actual capacity
b. Mis-reporting of status of achievement of KRAs
c. Shuttling of files between departments over a long period to avoid taking decisions
d. “Adjusting” appraisal marks of poorly performing officers to “somehow” make them eligible for promotion.

SEBI further added that it is unfortunate that some elements have attempted to diminish the significant capabilities of SEBI employees by instigating employees to believe that, as “employees of a Regulator” they should not be required to have such high standards of performance and accountability.

It added: "SEBI apprehends that the junior officers have been receiving messages from external elements outside their group, effectively instigating them to …go to media, go to the Ministry, go to Board…, perhaps to serve their own purpose. In fact, the letter of August 06, 2024, was not sent by the SEBI employee associations to the Government (and a section of the media). It was an anonymous email that was sent, and officers and associations have themselves condemned it and communicated the same to HRD through emails."