The Union Government Thursday appointed Finance Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey as the new Chairman of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). Pandey a 1987-batch Odisha cadre IAS officer will replace Madhabi Puri Buch whose three-year tenure will come to an end on February 28 (Friday). Notably Madabhi Buchs predecessors Ajay Tyagi and UK Sinha had received tenure extensions with Sinha serving six years and Tyagi serving four years as SEBI chief. However Madhabi Buchs tenure was marred by controversy following the damning allegations leveled in the Hindenburg report. Earlier the Union Finance Ministry had sought applications for the top post by February 17. Who is Tuhin Kanta Pandey? A 1987-batch IAS officer of the Odisha cadre Tuhin Kanta Pandey has Masters degree in Economics from Punjab University Chandigarh and an MBA from the University of Birmingham (UK). Over his nearly 4-decade long career Pandey has occupied top posts in the Union Government as well as the Odisha state government including Joint Secretary Planning Commission (now NITI Aayog) Joint Secretary Cabinet Secretariat and Deputy Secretary in Ministry of Commerce at the Centre. In Odisha Pandey has previously headed the Departments of Health General Administration Commercial Taxes Transport and Finance in the State government besides also serving as the Executive Director of Odisha State Finance Corporation and Managing Director of Odisha Small Industries Corporation. Currently Tuhin Kanta Pandey was serving as the Secretary Department of Revenue Ministry of Finance and the Finance secretary. He was the Secretary of Department of Investment & Public Asset Management (DIPAM) Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) and Department of Personnel and Training.