Mumbai: Concerned over lack of qualified professionals in Indian capital markets, regulator Sebi is betting big on its educational initiative NISM through which it also plans to provide training to regulatory officials.
Sebi will invite Prime Minister Narendra Modi to inaugurate the new campus of NISM (National Institute of Securities Markets), which will soon start functioning with space for around 900 residential students and 100 residential participants for various management development programmes.
The campus at Patalganga near Panvel will be developed further in a phased manner and will eventually have potential to accommodate 5,000 students, a senior official said.
Last month, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) as well as NISM also held their respective board meetings at the new campus. NISM has also held campus tours for market participants and media.
Many CEOs and senior executives from securities markets and banking sectors have also visited the 70-acre campus. NISM's board members include top bankers Chanda Kochhar and Uday Kotak, while its Academic Council is headed by former RBI Governor and eminent economist Bimal Jalan.
According to Sebi Chairman U K Sinha, who also chairs the board of NISM, it has been decided that the cost of the entire project will be funded by Sebi, though some large corporates have also offered to fund the chairs.
"Going forward, we will seek All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) recognition for one of our flagship programmes and then we will also get certification programmes equivalent to MBA," Sinha said.
NISM was established by Sebi with an aim to improve financial market education in the country and is headed by Sandip Ghose, a career central banker with more than 30 years of experience at RBI. He also served as Chief of Staff and Advisor to three successive RBI Governors during 1996-2004.
"Over the last 25 years, Sebi has introduced far reaching reforms by bring various regulatory changes. However, one of the major challenges faced by the securities market is lack of qualified securities market professionals," an official said.
"There is high demand for qualified securities markets professionals who are well-informed, competent with comprehensive knowledge of securities markets, conversant with global trends and willing to swiftly adapt to changes. NISM seeks to address this gap between demand and supply of qualified professional for securities market," he added.
NISM also caters to the graduates seeking rewarding careers in financial services and securities markets. "NISM also endeavors to provide quality training and capacity building programme for officials working with market regulators, professionals and students in India and abroad," the official said.
NISM has six schools as well as a National Centre for Financial Education (NCFE), which comprises of representatives from all financial sector regulators including RBI, Sebi and IRDAI.
