The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the re-appointment of Kamlesh Chandra Varshney as Whole-Time Member of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) beyond September 19, 2026.
Varshney will continue as SEBI WTM until he attains the age of 65 on August 4, 2029, or until further orders, whichever is earlier, according to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) dated September 15.
The 1990-batch Indian Revenue Service officer took charge as a WTM in September 2023. Prior to that, he was joint secretary (tax policy and legislation) in the Department of Revenue, Government of India.
businessline had reported earlier this month that Varshney was likely to get an extension, with government sources indicating that continuity was considered important as SEBI works through issues around the newly introduced closing auction session.
The government had in June invited applications for two WTM positions at SEBI as the terms of Varshney and fellow WTM Amarjeet Singh approached completion. Singh’s term ended earlier this month.
Varshney has been closely involved in SEBI’s enforcement actions around CAS. In August, he passed an interim order against Copthall Mauritius Investment, a JPMorgan entity, and Mansi Share and Stock Broking over alleged manipulation during the closing auction session.
He heads departments including corporate finance, corporation finance investigation, integrated surveillance and legal affairs, among others.