The Indian government has appointed Ravneet Kaur, current chairperson of the Competition Commission of India, as the interim chairperson of the National Financial Regulatory Authority (NFRA) for a three-month period starting from 1 April 2025.
This decision comes after the term of the previous NFRA chief Ajay Bhushan Pandey concluded on 31 March, reported news agency PTI.
Kaur is serving as the fifth chairperson of the CCI.
She has worked on anticompetitive conduct within various sectors, including pharmaceuticals, automobiles, media and entertainment, and aviation.
In her new role at NFRA, she will focus on the regulation of audit firms for listed companies.
The NFRA, established on 1 October 2018 under the Companies Act, 2013, is currently navigating through legal challenges concerning the separation of its review and disciplinary functions.
The Supreme Court has issued an interim order permitting NFRA to continue its investigations where audit quality review reports have not been prepared, and final orders are pending.
Kaur’s background includes roles as joint secretary in the department of industrial policy and promotion, chairperson and managing director of India Tourism Development Corporation, and principal secretary in various departments of the Government of Punjab.
She has also held positions in financial services, economic affairs, and disinvestment departments and has been associated with multiple organisations such as Punjab Communications, Exim Bank, and India Infrastructure Finance Company.
Her international experience includes working as a consultant with the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington DC and as a Hubert H Humphrey Fellow at Cornell University in the US.
The appointment comes at a time as the Big Five audit firms in India have recently raised concerns about NFRA’s operational methods, suggesting potential conflicts with the Companies Act 2013.
These firms have highlighted issues with the NFRA’s executive body performing both review and disciplinary actions, which they believe could affect neutrality and objective assessment.
“Indian government appoints Ravneet Kaur as interim NFRA chair” was originally created and published by The Accountant, a GlobalData owned brand.
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