Evolution of Regulatory Policy in Commodity Derivatives Markets in India

Regulatory law is like a palimpsest wherein one can see the imprints of earlier precedents and laws. This paper outlines the evolution of the commodity derivatives market and its regulatory architecture in India, and examines how certain regulatory practices such as making exchanges self-regulatory or setting up a regulator as an attached office of the government emerged. It also discusses how certain regulatory tools like price limits, trade bans, supersession of governing boards or transaction taxes came into being. There is no definitive work available on this. Hence, an attempt is made to trace the history using official records like files, annual reports, committee reports, court verdicts, parliamentary debates etc. accessed from the National Archives in Delhi, the Parliament Library etc. In addition, newspaper reports from the archives of the Times of India were also referred to.