Railtel Corporation of India has announced a revision in its Code of Practices and Procedures for Fair Disclosure of Unpublished Price Sensitive Information. This update aligns the company’s code with recent amendments to the SEBI (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations, 2015. The revised code is now available on Railtel’s official website.
The Chief Investor Relation Officer (CIRO) at Railtel is tasked with ensuring the timely and adequate disclosure of unpublished price sensitive information. This responsibility is part of the company’s commitment to corporate fair disclosure practices aimed at preventing insider trading, as stipulated under Schedule A read with sub-regulation (1) of regulation 8 of the SEBI regulations.
The CIRO, with the approval of the Director (Finance), oversees the dissemination of such information to stock exchanges, analysts, and shareholders. Additionally, the CIRO is responsible for vetting information released to the media, ensuring consistency with what is displayed on stock exchanges. Any accidental disclosure without prior approval must be immediately reported to the CIRO.
Railtel’s code also addresses the handling of market rumours. The CIRO responds to queries or requests for verification of such rumours by exchanges and decides, in consultation with the Director (Finance) or the Chairman & Managing Director, if a public announcement is necessary to verify or deny these rumours.
The code further outlines the procedures for the timely reporting of shareholdings and changes in ownership. The Compliance Officer ensures that disclosures of major shareholders’ ownership and any changes are made in a timely manner as per the Stock Exchange Listing Agreements.
When it comes to analysts and institutional investors, the code specifies that only authorised individuals can disclose information about the company’s securities. The CIRO is involved in handling unpublished price sensitive information, and any non-public information proposed to be shared must be done in consultation with the CIRO.
The code also includes guidelines for dealing with unanticipated questions during analyst meetings, ensuring that any required dissemination of unpublished price sensitive information is approved and made public promptly.
Railtel has established an institutional mechanism to prevent insider trading and a whistleblower mechanism to report any leaks of unpublished price sensitive information. Employees are encouraged to report suspected leaks to the Chairman and Managing Director or, in exceptional cases, to the Chairperson of the Audit Committee.
Finally, the code defines legitimate purposes for sharing unpublished price sensitive information, ensuring that such sharing is conducted in the ordinary course of business and not to evade or circumvent regulations.
Disclaimer: This article is based on a regulatory filing submitted to the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE).