Question 1 (25 marks)

Read the case below and answer the questions that follow:

The SEBI has imposed a penalty of 7269.5 crore on pearls Agrotech Corporation Limited (PACL) and its four directors- tarlochan singh, sukudev singh , gurmeet singh, and Subrata Bhatacharya who had mobilized funds from the general public through illegal collective investments schemes in the name of purchase and development of agriculture land. While imposing the penalty, the biggest in its history, securities and exchange boards of India said the company deserved maximum penalty for duping the common man. Its prevention of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices Regulations provides for severe to severe penalties for dealing with such violation. As per SEBI norms, it can impose penalty of 25 crore or three times of the profit made by indulging in Fraudulent and unfair trade practices of the illicit gains.

In the context of the above case:

(a) State the objectives of setting up SEBI. (10 marks)

(b) Identify the type of function performed by SEBI by quoting lines from the paragraph. (15 marks)