The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is not considering a ban on short-selling despite the ongoing market volatility triggered by the coronavirus outbreak, an NSE spokesperson told CNBC-TV18.

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"SEBI has received many proposals . But there is no proposal for banning short selling," the spokesperson said.

Short-selling is the practice of profiting from a fall in prices by borrowing shares and selling them (at a higher price), before buying and returning them (at a lower price) to the borrower, and pocketing the difference.

Regulators consider banning short-sales in order to curb volatility as the practice tends to push stock prices even lower. But some experts say banning short-selling can be impractical in its implementation as well as unfair to some market participants.

The talk on banning short-selling surfaced after a Business Standard report said such a move may be on the table in light of market volatility.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty have fallen more than 20 percent from the recent highs after cases of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) spread rapidly in China before coming up elsewhere in the world.

As of the latest figures, nearly 1,70,000 cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed with about 6,500 deaths, a majority in China, according to Worldometers.info.

India has recorded 114 cases, including 2 deaths.