Govt likely to give Sebi powers to regulate private placements The government is planning to relax a few key norms in the Companies Act to give Sebi more powers over private placements so that there's no conflict with the proposed crowdfunding norms. The government is likely to give the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) the power to regulate private placements by any Indian entity at a time when the capital markets regulator is finalizing norms for crowdfunding, said two people with direct knowledge of ongoing discussions between the regulator, the ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) and the ministry of finance. At present, private placements by unlisted firms are regulated by the MCA, while Sebi regulates fundraising activities by listed firms.Private placement means raising funds from less than 200 investors in a financial year. Funds raised from more than 200 investors automatically becomes a public offering and the issuer has to list these securities. Foll