ISAS Briefs

Following the revelations of fraud and misdemeanour in the financial accounts of Satyam Computers, a public-listed company with over 50,000 employees and a market leader in the Indian information technology (IT) industry, the Indian Ministry of Company Affairs moved swiftly to replace the company’s Board of Directors. Several investigations, regulatory as well as criminal, have been launched by different state and central agencies, and the promoter, Mr R. Raju, has been arrested. Three professionals, Mr Kiran Karnik, former head of the National Association of Software and Service Companies, the IT industry association, Mr Deepak Parikh, head of HDFC Bank and Mr C. Achuthan, a former member of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), have been appointed as directors. The government has allowed this group to increase the number of directors further, as needed, up to 10 members in all.