Regulatory Bodies in India

Constitutional bodies
1. Election Commission of India is a permanent Constitutional Body under Article 324. The Election
Commission was established in accordance with the Constitution on 25th January 1950. It currently
consists of Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners.
2. Union Public Service Commission is a body established under Article 315 of the Indian Constitution.
It consists of a chairman and 10 members. The Commission is authorized to conduct public services
examinations in India. Each state has its own Public Service Commission with functions similar to the UPSC.
The State Public Service Commissions were also constituted under the provisions of the Constitution of
India.
3. Finance Commission of India was established under Article 280 of the Indian Constitution by the
President of India. It was formed to define the financial relations between the centre and the state. The
Finance Commission Act of 1951 states the terms of qualification, appointment and disqualification, the
term, eligibility and powers of the Finance Commission. As per the Constitution, the commission is
appointed every five years and consists of a chairman and four other members. Till date, Thirteen Finance
Commissions have submitted their reports.
4. National Commission on Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes: The Constitution on its
inception, provided for appointment of a special office under Article 338 of the Constitution to investigate
all matters relating to the safeguards provided for Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes and report to the
President about the working of these safeguards.
5. Comptroller and Auditor General of India is an authority, established by the Constitution of India
under Article 148. The Comptroller and Auditor General of India audits all receipts and expenditure of the
Government of India and the state governments, including those of bodies and authorities substantially
financed by the government.
6. Attorney General is the chief legal advisor of the Government of India. He is appointed by the
President of India as per the provisions under Article 76 of the Constitution and holds office during the
pleasure of the President, with qualifications equal to a Supreme Court Judge.
7. Central Administrative Tribunal was established to adjudicate on disputes regarding recruitment and
conditions of service of persons appointed to public services. It was set up under Article 323A of the
Constitution as per the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985.
Statutory Bodies
8. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is India's central banking institution, which controls the monetary policy
of the Indian rupee. It was established on 1 April 1935 during the British Raj in accordance with the
provisions of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.
9. Securities and Exchange Board of India the regulator for the securities market in India. It was
established in the year 1988 and given statutory powers on 12 April 1992 through the SEBI Act, 1992.
10. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India is the independent regulator of the telecommunications
business in India. It was set up in February 1997 by an act of parliament called "Telecom Regulatory
Authority of India Act 1997.
11. Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is the Indian governmental regulatory body for civil
aviation under the Ministry of Civil Aviation. This directorate investigates aviation accidents and incidents.
12. Press Council of India is a mechanism for the Press to regulate itself. The raison detre of this
unique institution is rooted in the concept that in a democratic society the press needs at once to be free
and responsible.
13. Forward Markets Commission(FMC) headquartered at Mumbai, is a regulatory authority which is
overseen by the Ministry of Finance, Govt. of India. It is a statutory body set up in 1953 under the Forward
Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1952.
14. Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) came into existence on 27th October 1986 for
development and regulation of inland waterways for shipping and navigation. The Authority primarily
undertakes projects for development and maintenance of IWT infrastructure on national waterways
through grant received from Ministry of Shipping.
15. Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority(IRDA) is an autonomous apex statutory
body which regulates and develops the insurance industry in India. It was constituted by a Parliament of
India act called Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999.
16. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is an agency of the Ministry of
Health & Family Welfare, Government of India. It is responsible for protecting and promoting public health
through the regulation and supervision of food safety.
17. Central Pollution Control Board(CPCB) of India is a statutory organization under the Ministry of
Environment and Forests (MoEF). It was established in 1974. CPCB is also entrusted with the powers and
functions under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981.
18. Financial Stability and Development Council is apex-level body constituted by government of
India. The idea to create such a super regulatory body was first mooted by Raghuram Rajan Committee in
1998.The recent global economic meltdown has put pressure on governments and institutions across globe
to regulate the economic assets. This council is seen as an India's initiative to be better conditioned to
prevent such incidents in future.
19. Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority(PFRDA) was established by Government
of India on 23rd August, 2003. The Government has, through an executive order dated 10th October 2003,
mandated PFRDA to act as a regulator for the pension sector. The mandate of PFRDA is development and
regulation of pension sector in India.
20. Medical Council of India(MCI) is a statutory body with the responsibility of establishing and
maintaining high standards of medical education and recognition of medical qualifications in India. It
registers doctors to practice in India, in order to protect and promote the health and safety of the public by
ensuring proper standards in the practice of medicine.
20. Dental Council of India is a Statutory Body incorporated under an Act of Parliament viz. The
Dentists Act, 1948 (XVI of 1948) to regulate the Dental Education and the profession of Dentistry
throughout India and it is financed by the Govt. of India in the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare
(Department of Health) through Grant-in-aid.
21. Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) is a self-regulatory voluntary organization of the
advertising industry.
22. National Biodiversity Authority of India is a statutory autonomous body under the Ministry of
Environment and Forests, Government of India established in 2003 to implement the provisions under the
National Biological Diversity Act, 2002, after India signed Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 1992.
Quasi Judicial bodies
23. National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of India is an autonomous public body constituted
in 1993 under the Protection of Human Rights Ordinance of 28 September 1993. It was given a statutory
basis by the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 (TPHRA). The NHRC is the national human rights
institution, responsible for the protection and promotion of human rights.
24. Central Information Commission(<CIC) was set up under the Right to Information Act in 2005.
Its main function is to act upon complaints from those individuals who have not been able to submit
information requests to a Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer due to
either the officer not having been appointed, or because the respective Central Assistant Public Information
Officer or State Assistant Public Information Officer refused to receive the application for information under
the RTI Act.
25.National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission :The Consumer Protection Act, 1986
provides for a 3-tier structure of the National and State Commissions and District Forums for speedy
resolution of consumer disputes. To provide inexpensive, speedy and summary redressal of consumer
disputes, quasi-judicial bodies have been set up in each District and State and at the National level, called
the District Forums, the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions and the National Consumer
Disputes Redressal Commission respectively. At present, there are 629 District Forums and 35 State
Commissions with the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) at the apex.
26. Banking Ombudsman is a quasi judicial authority functioning under Indias Banking Ombudsman
Scheme 2006. The authority was created after a decision by the Government of India to enable resolution
of complaints of customers of banks relating to certain services rendered by the banks.
27. Insurance Ombudsman: The Governing Body of Insurance Council (GBIC) has been established
under Redressal of Public Grievances Rules 1998, to set-up and facilitate the Institution of Insurance
Ombudsman in India. The Governing Body of Insurance Council consists of one representative each from
all insurance companies; the representative is required to be either the Chairman or Managing Director or
a Director of the company represented.
28. Income Tax Ombudsman was set up with the objective of enabling the resolution of complaints
relating to public grievances against the Income Tax Department and to facilitate the satisfaction or
settlement of such complaints in 2006.
29. Central Electricity Regulatory Commission was set up under the Ministry of Powers Electricity
Regulatory Commissions Act, 1998. Its main purpose is to promote competition, efficiency and economy in
bulk power markets, improve the quality of supply, promote investments and advise government on the
removal of institutional barriers to bridge the demand supply gap and thus foster the interests of
consumers. Similar bodies have been set up in the States as well.
30. Competition Commission of India is a body of the Government of India responsible for enforcing
The Competition Act, 2002 throughout India and to prevent activities that have an adverse effect on
competition in India.
31. Intellectual Property Appellate Tribunal (IPAB) has been constituted by a Gazette notification
of the Central Government in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on 15th September 2003 to hear
appeals against the decisions of the Registrar under the Trade Marks Act, 1999 and the Geographical
Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999.
32. Income Tax Appellate Tribunal was constituted in 1941. It is one of the oldest bodies in our
country.
33. Custom Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) was formerly known as Customs,
Excise & Gold (Control) Appellate Tribunal (in short CEGAT), was constituted on the 11th October 1982.
During this period procedure for dealing with various aspects of the Tribunal's work have been evolved.
These are partly based on the procedures adopted by the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal, partly on those of
the High Court, and partly based on this Tribunal's own needs and experiences.
34. Railway Claims Tribunal: The substantive liability of the Railway Administration for loss, destruction,
damage, deterioration or non-delivery of goods entrusted to them for carriage and for death or injuries or
loss to a passenger in a railway accident or untoward incident is laid down in the Railway Act - 1989. The
establishment of Railway Claims Tribunal was necessary for speedy adjudication, providing relief to rail
users by way of expeditious payment of compensation to the victims of rail accident or untoward incident,
refund of fare and freight and compensation to those whose goods are lost while with railways.
35. Appellate Tribunal for Electricity: On 10th June, 2003, the Electricity Act was notified by the Govt.
of India. This Act seeks to consolidate the laws relating to generation, transmission, distribution, trading
and use of electricity and generally for taking measures conducive to development of electricity industry,
promoting competition therein, protecting interest of consumers and supply of electricity to all areas,
rationalization of electricity tariff ensuring transparent policies regarding subsidies, promotion of efficient
and environmentally benign policies, constitution of Central Electricity Authority, Regulatory Commissions
and establishment of Appellate Tribunal.
36. Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal(TDSAT), was established to adjudicate
disputes and dispose of appeals with a view to protect the interests of service providers and consumers of
the telecom sector and to promote and ensure orderly growth of the telecom sector.