SEBI alleges outsiders `instigating' staff trouble

The Securities Exchange Board of India has said that its officers are quite well-paid. The salaries of entry-level officers are comparable to those of the corporate sector, it said In response to a media report raising questions about the work culture at the SEBI.

It said that for entry-level officers at grade A, the cost to company (CTC) was approximately ₹34 lakh a year, which was comparable to the corporate sector.

the employees are now demanding an additional 55 percent increase in house rent allowance (HRA) over the allowance set in 2023. This would lead to an additional cost to the company of almost ₹6 lakh a year, the SEBI statement noted. 

`Instigated' by outsiders

The SEBI alleged that the campaign against the regulator was instigated by external elements. “The letter of August 6, 2024, was not sent by the SEBI employees' associations to the government and a section of the media. It was an anonymous email, and officers and associations have themselves condemned it,” the statement said. 

The SEBI said when the media reported the employees' demand for an increase in HRA as an issue around their working conditions then a group of employees consciously designed a strategy to change the narrative to frame the issue as relating to the work environment to have bargaining power to seek more benefits.

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