UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — SEBI slaps ₹28.6 crore penalty on Suzlon Energy for ‘accounting fraud’

Q1. The penalty of about ₹28.6 crore imposed in 2026 on Suzlon Energy Ltd and its former executives for inflating net worth through misleading disclosures was ordered by which one of the following bodies?

  • A. Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)
  • B. Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO)
  • C. Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
  • D. Competition Commission of India (CCI)

Q2. In SEBI's order against Suzlon Energy, the 'circular fund transactions' between the company and its wholly-owned subsidiary refer to which one of the following?

  • A. Movement of funds through a closed loop that ultimately returned to the originator, creating the appearance that the sale consideration had been genuinely settled
  • B. Round-tripping of funds through offshore tax havens to evade capital gains tax on the transfer
  • C. Rotation of the company's own shares among promoter entities to artificially raise the market price
  • D. Diversion of public-issue proceeds into unrelated real-estate ventures of the promoters

Q3. Under Section 50B of the Income-tax Act, 1961, the capital gains arising from a slump sale are treated as long-term where the undertaking has been owned and held by the assessee for a period exceeding how many months?

  • A. 12 months
  • B. 24 months
  • C. 36 months
  • D. 48 months

Q4. The Board of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is headed by which one of the following?

  • A. A Chairman appointed by the Central Government
  • B. The Governor of the Reserve Bank of India
  • C. The Union Finance Minister
  • D. A retired Judge of the Supreme Court nominated by the Chief Justice of India

Q5. SEBI functions under the administrative control of which one of the following Union ministries?

  • A. Ministry of Finance
  • B. Ministry of Corporate Affairs
  • C. Ministry of Commerce and Industry
  • D. Ministry of Law and Justice

Q6. The first-level monitoring of listed companies' compliance with the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, including issuing warnings for non-disclosure, is primarily carried out by which one of the following?

  • A. Recognised stock exchanges
  • B. The Reserve Bank of India
  • C. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs
  • D. The National Financial Reporting Authority