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Journalism of Courage
MUMBAI, Mar 18: Nine months have passed since Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited chairman and managing director B K Syngal retired, but the government is yet to appoint someone to take his place.
"Who comes is secondary — the main thing is that a decision should be taken soon," said the official. The process of appointing a chairman is a four-stage process. After the official notification regarding the vacancies is circulated, the nominations
are forwarded to the Public Enterprises Selection Board which shortlists some candidates based on interviews. The shortlist is sent to the communications ministry, after which it goes to the Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) for final approval.
The earlier round of interviews conducted for the post of the VSNL CMD fell through at the ACC level reportedly because vigilance clearance could not be obtained. "Due to some reason fresh applications have been called for," said V Sampath Kumar, Director, Service Undertakings. He was unable to say how much longer itwould take for the CMD’s post to be filled.
The absence of a full-time CMD has helped DoT to derail the regional hub project mooted in 1995, according to sources, who estimate the project would have generated $ 0.5 billion by 2001. Speculation is rife that there is a lot of political interference involved in filling up the key post. Ultimately the only loser is VSNL and the government itself.
