The Hindu Business Line : Minister wants ‘early warning system’ to check Satyam-like scams

Just a few days old in his new avatar, the Minister of State for Corporate Affairs (Independent Charge), Mr Salman Khursheed, wants to plug loopholes, if any, in the existing system to avoid white-collar crimes, and protect investor interest.

Learning from the challenges the Satyam scam has thrown up, the Minister wants to put in place ‘an early warning system without having a spy on the board (of a company)’.

When asked what he meant by an early warning system, he told Business Line: “A mechanism that would help in comprehending the problems at the initial stage and finding a solution.”

“It is something like when there is an economic overheating the reasons are known and then measures are taken to curb the impact,” he elaborated.

The Minister plans to seek expert views on the issue.

Asked if this would mean a relook at the functioning of the field offices — Registrar of Companies — of the Ministry, Mr Khursheed said, “If there is a need, may be.”

The Ministry now has better trained personnel from the Corporate Law Services, and there is better access to public information after the implementation of MCA-21. The effort is to demystify the corporate sector, the Minister stressed. By ‘demystification’ he meant making the Ministry more responsive towards the common man.

On the role of whistle-blowers, he said, “a whistle-blower is a part of vast jurisprudence of public interest. They are people who have special information. But the problem is how to ensure that they are not pseudo – working with a motive.” Also, there is a need to protect the genuine whistle-blower, he added.

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