The Hindu : Business : ISB Dean quits RBI, SEBI selection panels

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ISB Dean quits RBI, SEBI selection panels

Special Correspondent

It is not known whether he did so with TRAI panel

M. Rammohan Rao

HYDERABAD: The Dean of Indian School of Business (ISB) Mendu Rammohan Rao has resigned from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governors’ selection committee.

While the news broke out on Monday, sources in the ISB said that he had withdrawn from the panel over a week ago. Mr. Rao also withdrew from the selection panel of the chairman of Securities Exchange and Board of India (SEBI), the regulator of stock markets. It is not known whether he did the same with the selection panel of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

Mr. Rao, in his capacity as independent director, chaired the meeting of board of directors of Satyam Computer Services on December 16, as promoter directors left the meeting as they were interested parties to a decision that came up for the consideration of the board. The decision was to acquire Maytas Infra and Maytas Properties, the companies headed by the sons of Satyam Chairman B. Ramalinga Raju.

Following a furore from the investors, Mr. Raju announced that the company reversed the decision. Subsequently, several questions were raised on whether the independent directors acted truly independently, whether they “unanimously approved” the move to acquire the two companies, and whether due diligence was done. Mr. Rao had all the while maintained that “the Board acted in good faith with the best of knowledge at the time. Decisions were taken collectively.”

A Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) MP from West Bengal, Abani Roy, had demanded that Mr. Rao quit the selection panels. Following the resignation of other independent directors — Mangalam Srinivasan, Krishna G. Palepu and Vinod Dham — the ISB Dean too stepped down from Satyam’s board.

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