As a finance secretary, Kaul played an important role in the formulation of policies for export and import promotion, infrastructure for movement and financing of exports and the development of free trade zones in India. Kaul also served as the alternate governor of Asian development bank (ADB), World Bank (WB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF). Kaul was the chairman of the SEBI appointed committee which oversaw the implementation and facilitation of the SEBI Mutual Funds regulations, 1996. The committee helped the trustees of Mutual funds to best perform their role, so that the mutual funds could be managed more ethically and responsibly.