UK Sinha, a former chairman of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), has joined a corporate governance think tank set up by full-service law firm Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas.
The firm said in a statement that Sinha would serve as a senior advisor of the Corporate Governance Centre (CGC).
The think tank will lead the firm's thought leadership and advisory initiatives in matters related to corporate governance.
These include providing specialised board advisory services, assisting companies in setting up internal governance procedures and controls, representation in shareholder/activist engagements with Indian and international stakeholders, and training of board members and senior management.
In addition, CGC will also build a team of subject matter experts to advise clients.
Sinha, a 1976-batch Indian Administrative Service [IAS] officer, had earlier served as joint secretary in the Union finance ministry, where he looked after the banking as well as capital markets divisions.
Before taking up the top job at SEBI, Sinha was managing director of mutual fund manager UTI Asset Management Company.
He was appointed SEBI chairman in 2011 for an initial tenure of three years. This was followed by two extensions before he demitted office in February 2017 after six years in the job.
SEBI implemented several key reforms during Sinha's tenure. These included stringent disclosure norms, reforms in mutual funds and in the primary market, strict regulation for merchant bankers, introduction of new regulations for foreign portfolio investors, and alternate investment funds (AIFs).
“Evolution of the regulatory regime concerning corporate governance was a very important aspect of my tenure at SEBI. This is a topic that I have significant interest in," Sinha said.
Issues surrounding corporate governance were in the limelight last year amid high-profile controversies involving Tata Sons and Infosys in partocular. A SEBI panel led by Uday Kotak had in October recommended a complete overhaul of the existing corporate governance norms.
"We believe that this [corporate governance] has the potential to be an independent practice like in western markets," said Cyril Shroff, managing partner of Cyril Mangaldas Amarchand. "We see governance-related conversations becoming more frequent and urgent across Indian corporates, stakeholders and regulators."