Information database of municipal bond launched by SEBI

Current Context: To help municipal debt issuers and other participants in the municipal debt market, Ashwani Bhatia, a full-time member of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), has created an information database on its website that includes a repository of data on municipal bonds.

• A dependable alternative funding source for initiatives undertaken by municipal corporations is municipal bonds.
• The information database contains statistics, rules, guidance notes, FAQs, circulars, and circulars published by SEBI on municipal debt securities.
• An issuer looking to access the municipal bond market can get pre-listing checklists from the repository, which also provides sample letters and certificates from various intermediaries.
• As part of its attempts to develop the bond markets, the market regulator SEBI hosted an outreach workshop on municipal bonds and municipal finance in New Delhi, Delhi.
• Its goal is to give interested parties a united forum to discuss issues relating to Municipal Debt Securities Issuers, investor expectations, and the current regulatory environment, as well as to suggest actions to increase interest in and activity in the municipal debt securities market.
• SEBI's efforts to grow the bond markets
• A regulatory framework for creating, listing, and trading municipal debt securities was established by SEBI in 2015 and re-evaluated in 2019.
• Even though India's municipal debt market is still in its infancy, ten municipal corporations have issued 12 offerings of municipal bonds, raising close to Rs. 2000 crore since 2017.

Question:

Q.1 Who recently established an Information database of municipal bonds?
a. RBI
b. SBI
c. SEBI
d. NABARD