Suresh Prabhu & Manoj Tirodkar facilitated Enron-Dabhol-GE bribes and now GE had Suresh Prabhu appointed Rail Minister - Seema Sapra, General Electric whistle-blower

I attach some raw research below.

There are links between Manoj Tirodkar, Suresh Prabhu, General Electric and Enron dating back from the 1990s.

Manoj Tirodkar claims to have earned Rs 4500 crores from the sale of “Global Electronics Commerce Services Ltd”. Note that in an interview reproduced below Tirodkar claims to have sold Global Electronics in 1999, whereas he acquired this company in 2000 and then sold it in 2000 for Rs 4500 crores. Both GE and Enron had signed deals with Tirodkar’s companies before 2000 which inflated their value.

The Ketan Parekh scam was also used to artificially inflate the value of Manoj Tirodkar’s companies.

The Enron-GE-Dabhol bribes were transferred through this alleged sale of Global Electronics Commerce Services Ltd using Tirodkar and Suresh Prabhu.

Suresh Prabhu was involved with Manoj Tirodkar since the mid- 1990s.

Suresh Prabhu was later brought into politics and appointed power minister to further bail out Enron, Dabhol and GE.

Suresh Prabhu facilitated the Enron corruption for Enron and GE ad you have appointed him as Rail Minister when GE is facing complaints of corruption regarding the rail ministry.

Suresh Prabu still has links with Tirodkar and his Global group. Two persons described as holding senior management positions in Greenergy Renewables (a company held by Suresh Prabhu through Blue Crane Holdings and in which his son claims to be the Deputy Managing Director) are affiliated with the Global Group.

Greenergy Renewables also looks like a scam because two key management persons there have other full time jobs. See the screenshots attached showing that L Y Desai still works with Tirodkar’s GTL Infra. While Shirish Garud is still working full-time in TERI. Yet both Desai and Garud are shown as full-time senior management in Greenergy Renewables.

Nitin Gadkari had accused Arvind Kejriwal of being funded by the CIA front the Ford Foundation.

" while he was a Cabinet Minister in the Vajpayee government, Suresh Prabhu was accepting foreign donations to his NGO Manav Sadhan Vikas Sanstha of which he was and still continues to be Chairman.

In 2002, Suresh Prabhu’s NGO Manav Sadhan Vikas Sanstha received funds from the Ford Foundation which has well-established and acknowledged ties to the CIA and which is known to disburse funds on behalf of the CIA and to further CIA projects. (US Senate/ Congressional records disclose that the CIA played a role in facilitating the Dabhol Power Project.) In 2002, Suresh Prabhu was the Union Power Minister and was involved with the disputes on the corruption-ridden Dabhol power plant. His decisions, positions and actions as Power Minister benefited General Electric Company in the Dabhol disputes."

The Ford Foundation Annual Report for 2002 https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxHBZ8fQxNoQSUFmNGEzV2Zab1E/view?usp=sharing

at page 26 records that Suresh Prabhu's NGO Manav Sadhan Vikas Sansthan got USD 71,775 from the Ford Foundation.

Seema Sapra

“Global Group Profile Global Group is India's leading Infrastructure services group focused on Telecom, Shared Network Infrastructure and Power. Global Holding Corporation Pvt. Ltd. is the holding company of "Global Group" that has companies – GTL Limited and GTL Infrastructure limited, listed on Indian Stock Exchanges.  The Group has revenues in excess of US$ 800 million , Balance sheet size of over US$ 2.5 Billion (FY 2014E) and over 30,000 towers . The Group has operations across Asia Pacific, Africa, Americas, Europe and Middle East. For over 2 decades Global Group has been partnering with leading technology players to offer infrastructure services to telecom operators, OEMs and Utilities offering its expertise in wireless communications and Power. The Group employs people of more than 20 nationalities and supports communities in the areas of Education, Disability and Health. Global Group Enterprises have received more than 35 accolades and awards for excellence in Business, CSR and Corporate Governance.” At http://www.gtlinfra.com/aboutglobalgroup.asp http://businesstoday.intoday.in/story/the-rollercoaster-man/1/5803.html HomeBusiness TodayCorporateJuly 25, 2010Story The roller-coaster man Anand Adhikari       Edition:July 25, 2010 Ask Manoj Gajanan Tirodkar who he is close to in industry and he is most likely to reply: "I have no friends." Those who work with him point out that he leads a simple life, works from nine to six, and then goes back to his home in south Mumbai's Colaba. But when this writer prodded him about his social circle, Tirodkar couldn't resist this quip: "I met Sunil Mittal a long time back when I was big and he was small — and later again when he became big and I was small." That one line sums up Tirodkar's roller-coaster ride ever since he started a company called Global Tele-Systems to sell telecom equipment such as fax machines and telephones, in 1987, when he was in his mid-20s. Today, after making two multibillion-dollar acquisitions this year, Tirodkar is once again going up the roller-coaster to riches and the limelight. With Lady luck smiling on him, Tirodkar could well be saying to himself: Who needs a friend when you have a great business partner? Last fortnight, the man who didn't go to college — he completed his schooling from a Marathi-medium school in Mumbai — cut the deal of his life when he bought into Anil Ambani's telecom towers business. THE TIRODKAR DIARY AGE: 46 years DESIGNATION: Chairman, Global Holding Corp, the holding firm for six operating companies. EARLY DAYS: A first-gen entrepreneur who, in his mid-20s, founded Global Tele, a marketing & distribution firm for telephones and faxes, in 1987. DOMAIN EXPERTISE: Telecom EDUCATION: SSC from a Marathi-medium school. CURRENT EMPIRE: Six companies worth around Rs 10,000 crore, with annual revenues of Rs 7,000 crore; two are listed. SETBACK: Scrutinised by SEBI for alleged nexus with stockbroker Ketan Parekh in a promoterbroker scam to rig up share prices. CLOSE FRIENDS: Former Tata Finance MD Dilip Pendse and former Union Minister and Shiv Sena MP from Maharashtra Suresh Prabhu. TURNING POINT: Acquired the tower business of Aircel for an enterprise value of Rs 8,400 crore in January '10. BIG MOVE: Acquired tower business of Anil Ambani's Reliance Infratel, making GTL Infra the largest tower company in the world. LEADERS HE ADMIRES: J.R.D. Tata, Mukesh Ambani and N.R. Narayana Murthy. AWAY FROM WORK: Doesn't socialise, reads Peter Drucker, loves gardening and listening to music. By acquiring Reliance Infratel's 50,000-odd towers, Tirodkar's company, GTL Infrastructure, has become the largest telecom tower company in the world with 80,000 towers. The transaction is valued at Rs 50,000 crore. This figure is arrived at by multiplying the number of tenants per tower with the revenue generated per tenant. Anil Ambani will own 26 per cent of GTL Infra, with Tirodkar's holding coming down to 33 per cent from 52 per cent. That's the second big bang to come from the 46-year-old Tirodkar in just six months. In January this year, GTL Infra bought the tower business of mobile services provider Aircel for Rs 8,400 crore. From any angle, the diminutive and stocky Tirodkar doesn't come across as an archetypal takeover artiste. His headquarters in Janmabhoomi Chambers in South Mumbai's old commercial district of Ballard Estate is unassuming. And he shuns business suits, preferring the cool comfort of cotton shirts with two-buttoned pockets. But he loves reading the books of management guru Peter Drucker and legendary ex-CEO of General Electric, Jack Welch. Perhaps, Peter Lynch, who wrote One Up on Wall Street and Robert Shiller, author of Irrational Exuberance, should also find space on Tirodkar's bookshelf. After all, he knows a thing or two about stock markets. And he is no stranger to the rise and fall of fortunes brought about by irrational exuberance either — he was a beneficiary of the dotcom boom as well as a victim of the subsequent bust. At the peak of the cycle in early 2000, the stock price of Global Tele-Systems — now clipped to GTL, perhaps, in a bid to bury the pain of the past — had climbed to an all-time high of Rs 2,212. The market value of the stock crossed Rs 15,000 crore at one time, running neck and neck with bellwethers like ITC and Hero Honda. By March 2003, however, GTL's share price had sunk to Rs 53. Net profits had plunged from Rs 437 crore in fiscal year 2001 to Rs 111 crore a year later to Rs 83 crore by March 2003. GTL doubtless got burned because of the carnage in telecom and information technology sectors — its operations then included software and telecom engineering services, and enterprise networks. But Tirodkar's problem was worsened by the fact that GTL (along with some other telecom and IT stocks like HFCL, Silverline and DSQ Software) got clubbed with the infamous K-10 bunch. The K stands for broker Ketan Parekh, the big bull during the boom, who defrauded banks to keep share prices up. Tirodkar came under the magnifying glass but was eventually exonerated by market regulator, the Securities & Exchange Board of India. Shadow of Doubt That Tirodkar was close to Dilip Pendse, then Managing Director of Tata Finance, who was accused of insider trading in 2001, didn't do much for his reputation. Result: Tirodkar and his operations were perceived — rightly or wrongly — to be dubious. "In the years after the scam, investors who lost money looked on him with suspicion,'' says an analyst with a domestic brokerage firm. And Tirodkar was forced to lie low for most part of the decade. Tirodkar may have remained beneath the radar all those years, but he was still making important moves. Between the years ended March 2003 and March 2010, GTL's top line and net profits grew at a compounded average rate of 20 per cent and 14 per cent, respectively. The entrepreneur also found time to kick off new businesses. The tower operations were carved out of GTL, which resulted in the birth of GTL Infra, with the flagship becoming a pure-play network services company. Other companies in the group today are Global Rural NetCo, which is wiring up buildings for better data transfer in a wireless environment; Global Towers, a tower manufacturer; Global Projects, a procurement and project services company; and Global InnovSource, a recruitment and staffing services firm. The size of the group's balance sheet is estimated at $5 billion and the market value of two listed companies is roughly $2 billion. Interestingly, Tirodkar also has an aircraft maintenance company that services the planes of corporate tycoons, including the planes of Mukesh and Anil Ambani. The big question, however, is: How did Tirodkar finance his expansion spree? And the even bigger question is: How is he bankrolling the multi-billion dollar buyouts? "The money factor is grossly misconstrued," says Tirodkar. Why? In 1999, Tirodkar sold his apparently flourishing e-commerce operation, called Global Electronics Commerce Services Ltd. to a clutch of investors, including Bank of America, UTI and T.RowePrice, at a valuation of Rs 4,500 crore. "Some of that money came to me, whilst the rest was used for building new businesses," he says. He's quick to add that GTL has not raised any money from the market since an initial public offering in 1994. In fact, Tirodkar goes on to say that even after the recent huge investments, "we don't need money from the Indian capital market". That may smack of arrogance, but the canny entrepreneur appears to have more than one option to raise money. For starters, banks see few reasons not to lend to the GTL Group, with Deutsche Bank and half a dozen state-owned banks, including State Bank of India (SBI), having offered lines of credit for expansion and acquisitions. "He has a clear vision in the telecom services space," believes M.M. Agrawal, Deputy Managing Director, Axis Bank. And private equity majors such as Blackstone and Carlyle are said to be keen to invest in Tirodkar's companies. So, how is he financing the acquisitions of Aircel's and Ambani's towers? For Aircel's towers, Tirodkar has taken a debt of Rs 5,000 crore and there is an equity infusion of Rs 3,400 crore by GTL, Global Holding Corp and GTL Infra. The Reliance deal has been structured differently. A person close to the transaction reveals that Reliance Infratel's debt of Rs 12,000 crore will be transferred to GTL Infra. Anil Ambani will get a 26 per cent stake in GTL Infra. Tirodkar will have to pay out some cash, and that amount will be finalised once the valuation exercise is completed in a few weeks. Such transactions involving dollops of debt, equity and hard cash don't give Tirodkar sleepless nights — the group's net debt/equity ratio stands at 1.4, there is still an unused debt limit of Rs 3,500 crore (after tying up funds for the Aircel deal) and he's sitting pretty on a cash balance of at least Rs 2,500 crore. He can raise more debt as infrastructure companies can go up to a debt/equity ratio of three. Tirodkar says he can easily mobilise Rs 15,000 crore by securitising the future earnings of his tower business since it has triple A-rated customers. "If we take Rs 2,000 crore revenue every year for 15 years with a three per cent escalation every year, we have a revenue pipeline of Rs 40,000-45, 000 crore," says Tirodkar. The Rs 8,400 crore paid for Aircel's towers may seem a lot, but Tirodkar is confident of a huge payback. "The tower model is a self-financing one — just like roads that are financed by toll," says Tirodkar, as he explains the annuity-driven revenue model. "Rs 8,400 crore may look huge today, but over a 15-year period Aircel will be paying us between Rs 17,000 crore and Rs 22,000 crore," he says with a twinkle in his eye. GTL Infra will earn rentals of Rs 700 crore in the first year, Rs 1,100 crore in the second, Rs 1,400 crore in the third and so on, for 15 years, from Aircel. And, of course, if another tenant comes on board, that's another bonanza. GTL Infra currently has operators like Vodafone, Bharti Airtel and Tata Tele using its towers. New revenue streams from wireless broadband services providers and radio stations are also possible. "Our time has come," says Tirodkar, as he leans back in his chair. The upcoming rollout of third generation (3G) mobile phone services will throw up another huge opportunity. Tirodkar recently floated a company called Global Rural NetCo, which will take on the task of wiring up buildings for data transfer in the 3G era. This company achieved financial closure with a $1.2-billion loan from Axis Bank and IDBI Bank. For now, though, towers is where the action is. "His towers will dwarf all his other businesses in terms of size," says Ajay Parmar, Head of Research at Emkay Global Research. Tirodkar clearly has reasons to be excited: He's created a huge asset that is at the threshold of generating whopping revenues and he's found a dependable ally in Anil Ambani. And this time around the exuberance appears more rational than in the past. http://www.business-standard.com/article/beyond-business/newsmaker-manoj-tirodkar-111062400059_1.html Newsmaker: Manoj Tirodkar Towering ambition to grow and create value Arijit Barman  |  Mumbai  June 24, 2011 Last Updated at 00:38 IST A year ago, everybody complimented Manoj Tirodkar for his restlessness to grow and create value. Today, the same lot will turn around and say that is his millstone. At a dinner banquet last year at the Taj Mahal rooftop – after successfully concluding a merger between Aircel’s towers and group company GTL Infrastructure – Tirodkar was hailed as sagacious, humble and hands-on by a motley bunch of suave bankers, analysts and media persons. Tirodkar, for most, epitomised the new entrepreneurial India, transcending his humble beginnings in the chawls of Mumbai's Girgaum as a charting broker in the shipping industry, and claiming his place in the Forbes rich list while rubbing shoulders with many of the Brahmins of the Bombay Club. The same set are now blaming him for unbridled growth, stretched financials and dreaming too big, too soon. The punishment has been severe. Tirodkar’s listed entities – Global Telesystems Limited (GTL) and Global Telesystems Infrastructure (GTL Infra), two sister concerns with large holdings by foreign investors – have been mauled by investors in the past week. On Monday alone, GTL plummeted 62 per cent in one trading day, the second-highest fall in a single day in over a decade for BSE-500 stocks after the Satyam crash. To put it in perspective, since last Thursday, the two companies together have lost Rs 4,420 crore in market capitalisation – a 63 per cent erosion. While GTL infrastructure owns the assets and earns rental income, GTL sells the equipment and offers other services to operators.As in the past, conspiracy theories abound. First there was speculation that foreign investors in the counter were dumping the stock on fears that Mauritius may start taxing capital gains. Then there were whispers of corporate rivals hell-bent on launching an assault on the company and the fire sale was a precursor to a takeover. Such gossip usually gets aggravated in the street, especially when it comes to GTL, as many still associate with Tirodkar’s chequered past.  GTL’s chairman is not new to controversy. At 27, he had become a poster boy of the dotcom boom in 2000-01, only until it later emerged that the stock was part of a pack of securities whose prices were jacked up artificially by the now-tarnished and banned operator, Ketan Parekh. A KP redux was also the talking point, and what was more worrying was the fact that Tirodkar was not buying up the falling shares to provide support. Was he, then, not confident of his telecom tower operations? Was he out of cash? Were investors and institutions cashing out of the pledged shares that Tirodkar had parked with them to raise capital? The markets desperately wanted answers. Sadly, there were none. The concerns of leverage – Rs 10,000 crore on a consolidated basis – are genuine. And, it’s largely acquisition-led. To put some numbers in perspective, GTL Infrastructure saw interest costs rise nine-fold to Rs 254 crore in 2010-11, from Rs 28 crore the previous year. This ate away most of the operating profit of Rs 323 crore made by the company in the last financial year. And once depreciation was added, it dragged the company into the red. There are additional pressure points: A likely redemption of $300 million zero coupon FCCBs, due in November 2012. And bonds worth $228 million are still due. Most analysts have written off chances of the FCCBs getting converted, which means that they are likely to be redeemed for cash next year and the company will have to pay a 40 per cent premium and raise additional debt on an already overstretched balance sheet. The possibility of a conversion seemed even slimmer, as the stock needs to multiply three-to-four-fold for that to happen.Cash is tight and the macro situation in the telecom sector means that operating cash flows on incremental rental income will also be low. Investors are also discounting any immediate stop-gap arrangements. Plans for a $300 million QIP never really took off amidst volatile markets, and investors saw no clarity emerging out of GTL’s talks with banks for a $400 million mezzanine financing facility to bridge the equity requirements.  All those who have seen Tirodkar or know him do admit that he has been a tad wistful in the recent past, bothered by the regulatory and policy climate in the country. Will this first generation entrepreneur give up the fight? Will the towers collapse under the weight of debt? There have been cases of turnarounds across India Inc – maybe, just like his favourite teas, something is indeed brewing inside GTL’s HQ, which not many are aware of. 1987 - The Company was incorporated on 23rd December as a private limited company and was converted into a public limited company on 12th September, 1991. It was promoted by Manoj Tirodkar, G.R. Tirodkar and Fritz D'silva. - The Company manufactured telecommunication products. It extended its range of products to include fax machines, modern key telephone systems, wireless mobile telephone systems, V-Band Viax instant access communication systems etc. - The Company undertook distribution and servicing of telecommunication products. Subsequently, the company entered into tie-ups with Tata Keltron Ltd., India Telecomp Ltd. and internationally with V-Band Corporation USA, Lane Telecommunication Ltd. UK etc. Whole range of sophisticated instruments were introduced. - The Company set up seven service centres all over the countries, three in Mumbai, one each in Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai and Nagpur. - The company proposes to have modern testing equipments to test the printed circuit boards. Equipments such as PCB diagnostic equipments, LCR sortester, distortion meter and level meter etc. were procured. 1993 - 12,00,000 No. of equity shares of Rs 10 each issued to promoters, directors, their relatives etc. 18,00,000 No. of equity shares of Rs 10 each were then issued at par in April 1992 of which 90,000 shares reserved for allotment on preferential basis to employees. Balance 17,10,000 shares issued. 1994 - During April-May, the company issued 17,06,250-15% secured fully convertible debentures of Rs 35 each for cash at par on Rights basis in proportion 1 deb: 2 equity shares held. Another 28,95,000 - 15% debentures of Rs 40 each were issued through the prospectus as follows: - (i) 18,71,250 debentures to promoters, directors etc. on preferential basis; (ii) 2,50,000 debentures to ICICI on firm basis. Of the remaining 50,000 bedentures were issued on preferential basis to employees. Balance 7,23,750 debentures were issued to the public. - Part A of Rs 10 of each debenture was converted into 1 equity share of Rs 10 each after 6 months from date of allotment. Accordingly 46,01,250 shares allotted. - Balance Rs 30 (Rs 25 in case of Rights issue) was converted into 1 equity share of Rs 20 (Rs 15 in case of Rights issue) after 17 1/2 months from date of allotment of debentures. - On 10th October, the company issued 70,00,000 warrants to promoters, their friends and associates companies. Warrantholders exercised their right to convert these into 70,00,000 No. of equity shares at a price of Rs 50 per share. 1996 - 2,00,000-17.5% cumulative convertible preference shares of Rs 100 each were allotted during the year on private placement with Bajaj Auto Ltd. These have a maturity period of 18 months. - International Global Tele-Systems Ltd., (IGTL) is a subsidiary of the Company. Mauritius and Elber Trading Pvt. Ltd. is a subsidiary of IGTL. 1997 - The Company made foray into software development and Export. The company started executing I-Trade CommNet and Logistics Tracking System (LTS) projects. The I-Trade CommNet aims to establish electronic exchange of information and documents which is currently being exchanged manually amongst the entities of cargo community in India by using Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) technology. - The Company issued FCCBs worth Swiss Francs (SFr) 60,000,000 and out of these the company had received FECBs worth SFr 2,30,000 for conversion into equity shares. - Accordingly SFr 2,00,000 were converted into 64026 shares on 30.6.1997 and another SFr 2,00,000 were converted into 64026 No. of equity shares on 11.7.1997. In addition 73,630 No. of equity shares were issued at a premium of Rs 79 per share on conversion SFr 10,000. - On 29th August, 1,28,052 No. of equity shares were allotted at a premium of Rs 79 per share on conversion of SFr 10,000. Another 3201 No. of equity shares at a premium of Rs 79 per share were issued on conversion of SFr 10,000. - Global Tele-Systems Ltd. (GTL), has signed an agreement with National Securities Depository Ltd. (NSDL), to get its securities admitted for dematerialisation. - GTL has signed Bipartite Agreement with NSDL to the effect that the shares of GTL would be available for dematerialisation process and first private sector telecom company to do so. With this, the shareholders of GTL would be in a position to hold equity shares in electronic firm. - The company has strategic alliances with Samsung Corporation and Muratec for their range of fax machines, Northern Telecom for its range of PBX, Ericsson for cellular phones and turnkey solutions, Nokia for turnkey cellular projects, Maxon for cordless phones and Alcatel for turnkey projects and fibre-optic solutions. - Global Telesystems Ltd has tied up with Iscor of the US to provide advanced integration products like fax systems, E-mail equipment and electronic data interchange (EDI) in India. - The company has also been awarded a contract from Tata Communications for running a quality audit of its telecom towers for the cellular network in the Andhra Pradesh circle. 1998 - Global Tele-Systems Ltd has introduced for the first time in India the GC 455, a two-line cordless phone. - Global Tele-Systems has also launched its GC 477 cordless phone with digital answering machine. It has two voice mail-boxes for separating personal messages and business messages, 25-channel auto selection, intercom, and voice day/time announcement at the beginning of each message. - GTSL had recently tied up with the US-based GE Information Systems, under which the companies will together develop a source code, on which applications would be developed and exported. - The company has entered into alliances with AFNET, which will distribute all of AFNET's traffic into India, and with UNIFI Communications to distribute fax traffic. - In June, the Company placed privately 5,000,000 Equity Shares of Rs. 10/- each for cash, at a premium of Rs. 95/- per share. - Mr. Sadanand D. Patil and Prof. Sudhakar C. Sahasrabudhe were appointed effective from 5th September, and Mr, Dipak K. Poddar was appointed on 27th October, as Additional Directors. - During the year under review, 2,00,000 Cumulative Redeemable Preference Shares of Rs. 100/-each aggregating Rs. 2 Crores which were placed privately with Bajaj Auto Ltd. had been redeemed at par. 1999 - Global Tele-Systems, which is a part of the Rs 500-crore Global group, has tied up with UK-based Silverslate International Ltd, for its software and Internet business group for providing specialised telecom solutions. - The Mumbai-based Global Tele-Systems Ltd has entered into a strategic partnership with the US-based General Electric's General Electric Information Services (GEIS). - Microsoft Corporation of USA has recently certified Global Telesystems Ltd (GTL) as competence centre on Internet and e-commerce businesses. GTL has thus become the only company in India to have been accorded this status. - The Company has issued 2,00,000 Cumulative Redeemable Preference Shares of Rs. 100/- each aggregating Rs. 2.00 crores. These Preference Shares have been placed privately. 2000 - The Company has allotted 4981295 No. of equity shares at a premium to FCCB holders consequent upon exercise of right of option for conversion of FCCBs worth Swiss Francs 1070000. - The Company has signed a MoU with Vysya Bank Ltd. in connection with utilisation by Vysya Bank Ltd. of e-commerce payments processing infrastructure of the company. - The company is launching a state-of-the-art call centre at Mahape in Navi Mumbai in October for servicing large off-shore firms. - The International Global Tele-Systems Ltd. of Mauritius, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Global Tele-Systems, is acquiring an undisclosed equity stake in The Voice Company based in the UK. - IGTL has entered into a joint venture with Al-Nasser LLC in the Middle East for engineering services. It has also acquired a strategic stake in an international telecom value added service provider i.e. The Voice Company Pte. Ltd. - Oracle Software India Ltd., the wholly owned subsidiary of the Oracle Corporation of the US entered into a strategic tie-up with the Global Tele-Systems Ltd. for addressing the high growth application service provider market in the country. - The Company has allotted 35,000 No. of equity shares under ESOP upon exercise of right of option for conversion of warrants. - The Company has proposed to acquire an unlisted company Global Electronic Commerce Services Ltd. in its bid to create the largest e-commerce entity in the country. - The Company allotted 30,496 No. of equity shares of Rs 10 each for cash at a premium in terms of the employees stock option scheme upon exercise of right of conversion of warrants into equity shares by the employees. - The Company had acquired two software companies - Thermax Systems and Software, an associate of Thermax group and Fine Infotech, a company focused on banking products - in a Rs.15 crore all stock deal. - Global Tele Systems has allotted 85,000 equity share of Rs.10 each for cash at a premium in terms of the employees stock option scheme upon exercise of right of option or conversion of warrants into equity shares issued under the scheme into equity shares. - The Company allotted 83474 No. of equity shares of face value of Rs. 10. - The Company has entered into an MOU for a joint venture with Enron to build a state-of-the-art fibre optic broadband network. - The Company received a Silver Plaque from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India for the Best Presented Accounts for entries received from non financial private sector companies for the year 1998-99. - Mr. Manoj G. Tirodkar, Executive Vice Chairman, became the first Indian to win the World Young Business Achiever Award for the year 2000 in Orlando, USA, from Worldcom, USA. - The Company has received letter from T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., for acquisition of shares of the company. Shareholding of T. Rowe Price Associates Inc. in the company on behalf of itself and its subsidiaries, has gone up to 38,26,675 shares, 8.79% of te paid up equity share capital of the company. - Amalgamation of Global Electronic Commerce Services Ltd. with the company. will be at the ratio of one equity share of GTL (Rs 10 each) for every six of GECS. - The Board of Global Electronic Services and Gloal Tele-Systems have approved a share-swap ratio of 6:1 after the merger of the two companies. - Enron India has tied up with Global Tele-Systems and Maharashtra State Electricity Board for connecting major towns in the state through optical fibre network using power transmission lines. - Global Tele-systems is all set to acquire 100 per cent equity of Thermax Systems & Software, an infotech company belonging to the Pune-based Thermax group. - Issue of Allotment of 1,00,000 No. of equity shares of the shareholders of Thermax Systems & Software Ltd. in terms of Scheme of Acquisition of the bsiness of the company. - The Company has 856,375 outstanding warrants issued its employees as of September 30, under ESOP scheme. - The Company has signed a `professional services agreement' with Cisco System Inc., world leader in the networking technology for the Internet. 2001 - The Company has entered into MoUs with several leading banks for providing ASP and Technology and software Support, and activities related to that continue un-affected. - Allotment of up to 2,65,28,600 equity shares to the shareholders of Global Electronic Commerce Services Ltd. on amalgamation with the company. 2002 -GTL has won the Goldeb Peacock Award for Excellence in Corporate Governance in the private sector category. -GTL Board has approved for the allotment of 5000 warrants to the eligible employees under the Employee Stock Option Scheme. 2003 -GTL Board has approved for the scheme of merger of Redington Mauritius Ltd with the company. -The board of directors of GTL have approved for the proposal for issue of fresh equity of 14.3cr shares at the price of Rs.150 per share to the Chanrais. -Mr.Vijay N Paranjpe has relinquished officer as whole time director and director of the company. -GTL Ltd and Tata Teleservices has been shortlisted by Andhra Pradesh government to manage the information assets created by state as part of its e-governance initiatives. -GTL Ltd has entered into partnering agreement with GBS. LLC premier Enterprise Wide Outsource provider based in the US. 2004 -GTL Ltd appoints Dr Michael Clark as the Chief Executive Officer wef July 3, 2004. - Alcatel partners with GTL for enterprises business in South Asia 2005 -"Nortel N power Partner of the Year 2005" Award from Nortel Networks -"Most Significant Competition Breakthrough 2005" Award from Nortel Networks - "Best Process Compliance Year 2005" Award from Nortel Networks 2006 -GTL Ltd has appointed Mr Manoj G Tirodkar as Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) of the Company, -Acquisition of UK Based Genesis Consultancy - Listing of GTL Infrastructure Limited, a spin off from GTL as part of the restructuring process -Opens office in Thailand -Bags first project in Africa -Bags BSR Award for Corporate Governance - Business for Social Responsibility -President’s award to Mr. Charudutta Jadhav, a visually impaired GTL employee -"APAC Partner of the Year 2006" Award for Oracle E-Business Suite Special Edition -"The Best On time Renewal Partner in the Year 2006" Award from Oracle Support Services 2007 -GTL hives off Enterprise Networks and Managed Services business to Orange Business Services, an arm of France Telecom. -GTL wins the prestigious Golden Peacock Global Award for Corporate Governance -GTL enters into a strategic alliance with Ericsson UK, to offer Managed Network Infrastrucutre Services to customers in UK and Ireland -GTL International, a 100% international subsidiary of GTL, acquires SCS, a Network Deployment Company in USA -GTL successfully completes the buy back of shares -GTL International, a 100% international subsidiary of GTL, acquires ADA Cellworks, the leading Network Planning and Optimization player in Asia Pac 2008 -GTL Wins Golden Peacock National Training Award 2008. -GTL receives the prestigious Greentech Environment Excellence Silver Award 2008. -GTL forms Strategic Alliance with Vanu Inc to Conduct Shared Active Infrastructure Field Trials in India. -GTL wins Outstanding Contributor to Corporate Responsibility Award from Nokia-Siemens. -GTL becomes No. 1 Telecom Turnkey Company of the year in V&D 100 Survey. 2009 -GTL features amongst top 10 companies in the S&P ESG Index 2009. -GTL wins the ‘Performance Excellence” Trophy from IMC Ramkrishna Bajaj National Quality Award. -GTL entered into a “Global Supplier Co-operation Agreement” with Huawei for worldwide co-operation in Network Services. -GTL extends its capabilities to serve power utilities, bags Rs 324 Cr order from Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Co Ltd (MSEDCL). 2010 -GTL - Information regarding Income-tax Search in the Company's premises 2011 -Global Corp, Tulip buy 26% Stake in qualcomm JV. 2012 -Shares of GTL group companies such as GTL Ltd. and GTL Infrastructure have rallied more than 10 per cent each in the opening trade. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/gtl-ltd/infocompanyhistory/companyid-11399.cms Trapped in the Forest Fire Suddenly, Suresh Prabhu, the powerful Union Environment Minister, finds his clean-n-green reputation going up in a blaze of irate investors, court cases, and political vendetta. What's the verdict? The Friends Of Suresh Prabhu Ltd The campaign is by vested interests By A BT Investigation This jungle trail runs from business to politics, from bankruptcy to deceit, from ambition to jealousy. At every twist and turn, it appears to have turned cold, but there is no doubt that the track unerringly leads to a swamp of fraud which the investor has, unwittingly, stumbled into. Embroiled in this forest of controversy is the 46-year-old Union Minister For Environment And Forests, Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu, whose meteoric rise in the last 2 years has stunned both his rivals and his friends. After all, Prabhu, who was not even a primary member of any political party when the Shiv Sena first announced his candidature in the 1996 Lok Sabha elections, immediately became the Union Minister For Industry in the 13-day Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government. Suresh PrabhuSince then, the cases against the flamboyant chartered accountant-turned-banker-turned-politician have been mounting. Totalling over 30--and filed in Panjim, Ernakulam, and Mumbai--they have uncorked his past: strong connections and cosy relationships. Did Prabhu prey on investor gullibility? Or is he the victim of a political plot? Prabhu swears by his innocence: "The campaign against me has been launched by some vested interests." The small investor, who has dragged him to court, disagrees. And, although all the cases are sub-judice, the needle of suspicion points to politics as much as it does to business. It certainly appeared so when a criminal case was filed before the Judicial Magistrate (First Class ), Court No. 2, Ernakulam, on January 6, 1997. A Kochi-based investor, K. Joseph, complained that 2 cheques--which were issued by a Non-Banking Finance Company (NBFC), the Rs 7.83-crore Western India Financial Services, for Rs 2 lakh and Rs 9,896, respectively--had bounced. That was hardly surprising: since 1996, investors have lodged as many as 60,000 complaints against nbfcs with the Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and the courts. What was unusual about Joseph's case--and the 30 others filed against Western India Financial Services--was the name of the co-accused: Suresh Prabhu. Nearly 15,000 investors had deposited Rs 20 crore with the NBFC promoted by the now-bankrupt industrialist, Nandan Gadgil, 42, whose Rs 300-crore empire--including the Rs 90.66-crore Western Paques, the Rs 68.97-crore Western India Industries, and the Rs 11.47-crore Western India Securities (later renamed Wisec Global)--crumbled in 1996-97. Like other scams, a businessman's (Gadgil's) fraudulent offices led to a politician's (Prabhu's) home. Prabhu--who won the Parliamentary polls as a Shiv Sena candidate from the Rajapur (Maharashtra) constituency in May, 1996, and March, 1998--was the Chairman and Managing Director of Western India Financial Services besides being a director on the boards of 11 other companies, including the Rs 486.63-crore Global Tele-Systems and the Rs 387.38-crore Sai Service Station. Which is why criminal charges under the Negotiable Instruments Act were levelled against both Prabhu and Gadgil after investors discovered that the post-dated cheques issued by the company had bounced. Even as Gadgil's Pune-based uncle, Avinash Wardekar, 61, is desperately trying to resurrect the Gadgil Western Group, Prabhu is fighting to prove his innocence. Legally, the bouncing of a cheque is an offence under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, and the directors of an offending company can be prosecuted under Sections 141 and 142 of the same Act. While the Metropolitan Magistrate Court, Mumbai, has accepted Prabhu's plea that he should be discharged from the case, the Judicial Magistrate (First Class) Court, Panjim, has refused to follow suit. Instead, the latter has contended that Prabhu's innocence can only be proved after a full trial. BT explores the nexus by investigating the cases against Prabhu, and his proximity to Nandan Gadgil. THE BUSINESS CONTROVERSY It was meant to revive the sagging fortunes of the Gadgil Western Group, which had diverted Rs 139.15 crore from its cash-rich companies--Western India Industries (1996-97 net profits: Rs 11.31 crore) and Western Paques (Rs 22.22 crore)--to finance its unrelated diversification into financial services, sugar, and shipping. In Western India Financial Services' 3-month fixed deposit scheme--which had been launched at regular intervals since 1995--investors were allowed to participate in the bill-refinancing business. After discounting a Bill of Exchange, Western India Financial Services would re-discount it in favour of the depositors based on the latter's quantum of investment. They were promised attractive returns: an annualised yield of 20 per cent on deposits of less that Rs 5 lakh, 22 per cent on deposits between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 10 lakh, and a "negotiable" yield on deposits of over Rs 10 lakh. To reduce the depositors' risks, WIFS issued post-dated cheques for both the principal and the interest. It also forced the parties involved in the bill discounting deal--the issuer and the acceptor of the bill--to sign the bills of exchange. This was, obviously, done to protect the interests of the depositors in case the money was not paid up by the creditor company. But, at   the time of encashing their profits, all that the depositors got was a stream of bouncing cheques. On November 14, 1996, when Joseph deposited 2 cheques in his account at the Central Bank of India, he was told that they could not be honoured due to "insufficiency of funds." On December 23, 1996, Joseph received a letter (dated November 14, 1996) from Western India Financial Services, which explained: "Due to the prevailing market conditions... our cash inflows are disturbed... Therefore, we request you not to present the aforesaid post-dated cheques as we are not certain of funding the account on the due date." Little wonder, then, that the investor is crestfallen. Laments Joseph: "All my life, I had invested in schemes of the Unit Trust of India and the Post-Office. But, I guess, a mistake had to be made some day." By then, other creditors like H.G. Parekh, a Mumbai-based businessman, started realising what was happening. A cheque for Rs 1 lakh, which was issued to him by the company, bounced in September, 1997. But it was too late; Gadgil's empire was on the verge of bankruptcy, and investors had no option but to approach the courts to recover their money. Expansion had contracted the Gadgil Western Group's fortunes. Between 1991 and 1997, Gadgil set up several greenfield ventures across the globe: in India, Dubai, and the US. He also raised large amounts of money by floating public issues at premiums. Not surprisingly, the share premium reserves of the group were Rs 329 crore on March 31, 1997, but it owed Rs 350 crore to the financial institutions, banks, corporates, and investors. Worse, the group's diversifications backfired: while the Rs 23.15-crore Western India Shipyards incurred a loss of Rs 30.35 crore in 1996-97, the Rs 5.68-crore Western Orissa Sugars made a loss of Rs 3.28 crore. Gadgil was on the run. Law-enforcers finally caught up with him in April, 1997, when he was arrested in Dubai for another bounced cheque, which had been issued to a Dubai-based financier, Sunil Mansukhani. But he managed to get bail by putting some of his assets--including the Dubai-based Western India Oil Refinery, which planned to use a new technology to extract kerosene and diesel from refinery-wastes--on the block, and obtaining an advance from his bankers to repay his creditors. While Western India Financial Services has since been sold to Yogesh Kumar Tiwari, a Mumbai-based businessman, Gadgil's uncle, Wardekar, has taken over Western India Securities. THE BOARDROOM CONTROVERSY The case for the defence, essentially, rests on a single date: the day Suresh Prabhu resigned from the Western India Financial Services board. If it can be proved that his resignation was effective May 7, 1996--when the letter, dated May 6, 1996, was received by the company--it will prove his innocence. Since all the bounced cheques were issued after that date, that means that Prabhu was not involved in the scam. Points out Prabhu: "I resigned from the boards of (12) companies on May 6, 1996, to contest the Lok Sabha elections. I was not on the Western India Financial Services board when the cheques were dishonoured." Did he? Agrees Manoj Tirodkar, 34, CEO, Global Tele-Systems: "We had asked Prabhu to be a non-executive director of our company. He resigned from our board on May 6, 1996." To buttress his claim, Prabhu shows copies of Form 32, which were filed by 11 companies--including Sai Service Station, Global Tele-Systems, and Global Wireless--with the Registrar of Companies (ROC) to indicate board-level changes. Indeed, all of them show Prabhu's resignation date as May 6, 1996. Unfortunately, that is not the case with the form filed by Western India Financial Services, which uncapped the controversy. That document, filed by the NBFC on December 13, 1996, states that Prabhu, along with Gadgil and another director, Brij Bhushan Nagpal, resigned on November 14, 1996--the day Gadgil signed an memorandum of understanding to sell the company (which has since been renamed Amnet India) to Tiwari. In fact, the 4 new directors appointed on that date were Tiwari and 3 of his aides. However, another Form 32, dated March 26, 1997, lists Prabhu's resignation-date as March 15, 1997. If either of these dates (November 14, 1996, or March 15, 1997) is right, Prabhu will become an accused in at least some of the cases filed against Western India Financial Services. To set the record straight, Prabhu even appears to have got the roc, Mumbai, to issue a clarification. In response to his letter, dated June 9, 1998, the roc wrote to Amnet India on July 24, 1998: "It appears that Suresh Prabhu had resigned on 7/5/96, and not on 15/3/97, as per Form 32 dated 26/3/97. You are, therefore, advised to rectify Form 32 immediately on receipt of this letter." Indeed, Prabhu's lawyers used this letter as evidence in their legal battles in Panjim and Mumbai to indicate that he had resigned from the boards of companies on May 7, 1996. Last month, the roc also initiated legal proceedings against Western India Financial Services for violations under Section 303 (2) of the Companies Act. In a case filed in the Metropolitan Magistrate Court, Mumbai, the roc alleged that the company failed to file Form 32, notifying Prabhu's resignation in May, 1996, within the mandatory 30 days. If true, why did Western India Financial Services decide to deliberately delay Prabhu's resignation? The reason, as disclosed by Prabhu's lawyers to the Judicial Magistrate (First Class) Court, Panjim: the company's board of directors would have lost legal sanction if Prabhu's resignation had been accepted in May, 1996. That's because Section 252 of the Companies Act states that a public company's board should have a minimum of 3 directors. And, after Prabhu's resignation in May, 1996, Western India Financial Services would have had only 2: Gadgil and Nagpal. Those fears should not have influenced the resignation submitted by a director who wanted out. Points out S.S. Rana, 57, Advocate, Delhi High Court: "Nobody can stop a director from resigning. If it contravenes the law, the other 2 directors can co-opt a third director till the next general body meeting ratifies the decision, or inducts a new director." Maintains Prabhu: "My effective date of resignation from all companies, including Western India Financial Services, is the date on which I submitted my resignation to the respective companies." That was May 6, 1996, or May 7, 1996, if one considers the date when the letter was received by the company. Although there is no provision in the Companies Act about the process through which a director can resign, such events are decided by the relevant provisions in the Articles of Association of a company and legal precedents. Take the case of Western India Financial Services. Article 155 of its Articles of Association states: "A director may, at any time, give notice in writing of his intention to resign by addressing it to the board of directors of the company and delivering such notice to the secretary or leaving the same at the registered office of the company Thereupon, his office shall be vacated." Legal precedents also support Prabhu's defence. Agrees Tirodkar: "A director's resignation is effective immediately if there is no mention in the Articles of Association. Else, one has to go by specific clauses in the Articles." THE POLITICAL CONTROVERSY Are deliberate attempts being made to villify Prabhu? Yes, says Kirit Somaiyya, 44, the Maharashtra State President of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who has known Prabhu since 1975: "The number of cases filed against him reflects the extent of political jealousy. Notes Prabhu: "Most of the cases against me were initially filed 20 months ago. They were refiled after I became a minister once again in March, 1998." In fact, the controversy has seeped into the Goan political arena. There, the legal campaign against Prabhu is being spearheaded by Gopal Mayekar, 64, a former Congress-I Member of Parliament, who himself had invested Rs 2 lakh in Western India Financial Services, and is actively involved in the 29 cases filed by Goan investors against Prabhu. All these cases have now been transferred to the Sessions & District Court, Panjim, and the next hearing is scheduled for January 6, 1999. But Mayekar denies that the charges are politically motivated: "There is no campaign against Prabhu since I am also a victim. In fact, he was the only director against whom we could initiate prosecution as all the others (including the promoter, Nandan Gadgil) are missing." Of course, his political links have compounded Prabhu's problems. Points out Somaiyya: "When Madhu Dandavate represented Rajapur in Parliament between 1971 and 1989, Prabhu always supplied him with details on crucial business issues. He was also close to Congress (I) politicians like Sharad Pawar and Vittal N. Gadgil." But, in the same breath, Prabhu's friends contend that he has never been involved in any controversy before the Western India Financial Services scam. Agrees Mukesh Kalmadi, 46, Joint Managing Director, Sai Service Station, where Prabhu was a director: "He has a clean image in business and politics." But, then, how did Prabhu get involved with Nandan Gadgil? Explains Prabhu: "I was invited by a number of promoters, including Nandan Gadgil, to join the boards of their companies because of their perceptions about my standing in public life." Moreover, Prabhu's political aides contend that neither did he have any executive powers in any of the companies--including Western India Financial Services--nor large equity stakes in them. For instance, his family's stake in Western India Financial Services, which had an equity base of 58.50 lakh shares, was a mere 300 shares. Of course, Prabhu's business roots go deeper (see box). Both in his capacity as a chartered accountant and the chairman of the Saraswat Cooperative Bank (1997-98 income: Rs 254.83 crore), he was close to numerous businessmen. For instance, Tirodkar admits that Prabhu's chartered accountancy firm was the auditor of one of his companies. And Prabhu himself says that, as the chairman of the Saraswat Bank for 81 months (between 1989 and 1995), he regularly interacted with businessmen. Indeed, he is still a director on the bank's board and, in September, 1998, he and his supporters were again elected to it. In fact, among the 12 directors elected, Prabhu got the maximum number of votes. THE LEGAL CONTROVERSY Going by the number of cases against Prabhu, he may find it tough to emerge completely unscathed. Already the rulings of the Panjim and the Ernakulam Courts indicate that he is unlikely to wriggle out of his predicament easily despite the fact that he has received a favourable decision from the Mumbai High Court. For instance, after the Ernakulam Court issued 2 non-bailable warrants against Prabhu on January 14, 1998, and March 19, 1998, in the Joseph case, he managed to get a stay on the proceedings from the Kochi High Court on July 2, 1998. But, on October, 23, 1998, Joseph filed a counter-affidavit before the High Court, which has yet to deliver a final judgement. In Goa, the lower courts have delivered a body blow to Prabhu's defence. States the judgement by the Judicial Magistrate in Panjim, C. Fernandes, delivered on August 29, 1998: " the alleged defence taken by the accused No. 2 (Suresh Prabhu) will be looked into only at the stage of trial where both the parties adduced their respective evidence and documents." And in another case in Goa--filed by the Panjim-based Gulf Goan Hotels Company--the Judicial Magistrate, Desmond D'Costa, ruled on September 1, 1998: "At this stage, there is a strong suspicion that the accused (Prabhu) had cheated the complainant by inducing the investment of money" Prabhu's defence will be further demolished if fresh cases--relating to the period when he was the Chairman and Managing Director of Western India Financial Services--are filed. Indeed, many companies promoted by Nandan Gadgil have failed to repay their creditors, but they have decided against taking legal action against him or his companies. Points out Kalmadi, who refuses to disclose the exact amount his company lent to the Gadgil Western Group: "We are sure that we will not get the money back. And this is part of doing business in India." But, then, as Suresh Prabhu has realised, there is yet another danger of being associated with businessmen like Nandan Gadgil: that of being embroiled in a long-drawn legal battle. And, even if it is just a case of dirty business discolouring ugly politics, Prabhu cannot easily disentangle himself from the knots he himself once tied between the two. Reported by Alam Srinivas, Rajeev Dubey & R. Sridharan The Friends Of Suresh Prabhu Ltd It has been a political pole-vault for Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu. In the mid-70s, he was only the President of the Khar Residents' Association in Mumbai; by 1996, he had joined the ranks of the Union Cabinet. Maharashtra politics was aflutter when Prabhu, a Saraswat Brahmin from Konkan's Malvan region, got a Shiv Sena ticket to contest the 1996 Lok Sabha elections. Explains a Mumbai-based Shiv Sena leader: "We though Prabhu was ideally placed to fight the elections under the Congress (I) or the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) banner. He was close to politicians from both the parties." Prabhu, however chose, the Shiv Sena which gave him a ticket because its supremo, Balasaheb Thackeray, apparently wanted the intelligentsia to represent the Shiv Sena in Parliament. And Prabhu had the right credentials: a gold medal in the chartered accountancy examinations in 1980; years of charitable work; and proximity to politicians like Madhu Dandavate of the Janata Dal and Sharad Pawar of the Congress (I). What was even more important was Prabhu's influence in the co-operative movement, which wields considerable political power in Maharashtra. In fact, Prabhu's 15-year stint, from October, 1983, as the Director of the Saraswat Co-operative Bank, and his 81-month tenure as its Chairman-between January, 1989, and September, 1995-brought him close to both politicians and businessmen. During his chairmanship, the bank's net profits rose from Rs 1.96 crore in 1988-89 to Rs 7.43 crore in 1994-95 while its deposits zoomed from Rs 5,002.84 crore to Rs 8,453.41 crore. "His ambitions may have grown during this time," says Kirit Somaiyya, 44, the President of the BJP's Maharashtra unit. What benefited Prabhu was also his proximity to Suresh Kalmadi, 54 an Independent Member of the Rajya Sabha, his brother Mukesh Kalmadi, and Nandan Gadgil, the Chairman of the now-bankrupt Gadgil Western Group. Admits Mukesh Kalmadi, 46, Joint Managing Director, Sai Service Station: "My interactions with Prabhu were due to the latter's participation in high-profile activities in Mumbai." Unfortunately, Prabhu got too close to Nandan Gadgil, whose among small investors. And now threatens to engulf Prabhu too in controversy. 'The campaign is by vested interests' In an exclusive interview with BT, the Union Minister For Environment & Forests, Suresh Prabhu, defends himself: Q. Mr Prabhu, when did you resign as the CEO of Western India Financial Services? A. I resigned from all the (12) companies in May, 1996, to contest the Lok Sabha Elections. Why is there a discrepancy in the dates mentioned in Form 32? Form 32, which has be filed to the Registrar of Companies, has to be complied with by the companies. My resignations of the Articles of Association of the respective companies and the requirements of the Company Law as well as the prevalent practices in the corporate sector. My effective date of resignation from all the companies, including Western India Financial Services, is May 6, 1996. My resignations from these companies have been taken note of by the authorities concerned. How many criminal cases have been filed against you? Are they related to only Western India Financial Services? The cases are not filed against me personally, but against Western India Financial Services, in which I have been sought to be implicated in my capacity as a director. All the cases pertain to the cheques issued by Western India Financial Services, which were not signed by me. I was (also) not on the board when the cheques were dishonoured. What explains your presence on the board of a dozen companies? As a chartered accountant with a flourishing practice, I had relations with several companies. I was (also) invited by a number of promoters, including Western India Financial Services' Nandan Gadgil, to join the boards of their companies in view of their perception about my standing in public life. I have been working in social, and educational areas for more than 2 decades through voluntary agencies. The campaign against me is by vested interests. I do not ascribe it to any particular political party. http://archives.digitaltoday.in/businesstoday/22121998/invest.html http://nt.walletwatch.com/sathyamnew/NewsView.asp?NewsID=25773&NewsBullet=0 Global Tele-systems Ltd has decided to divest its entire stake in its group company global Electronic Commerce Services (GECS) for a consideration go around Rs 500 crore at Rs 350-400 per shares. Global Tele-Systems holds around 11.74 per cent in GECS after divesting 1.26 per cent recently to Morgan Stanley Fund for Rs 50 crore at Rs 250 per share. It has already placed 5 per cent of the equity with domestic and foreign institutions, while the balance 6.74 per cent is yet to be placed. While promoters through GECS Holdings Ltd and Singapore-based Technology Resources Ltd hold 42 per cent stake each in the company, relatives of the promoters hold another 3 per cent. Company managing director Manoj Tirodkar confirmed the agreement with institutions. The specified lock-in period had ended recently, he added. He said as per the agreement entered into with the investors, the base price for selling the stake has been fixed at Rs 200. While global Tele-Systems has already entered into a specified lock-in period agreement with foreign and domestic financial investors over five per cent of its stake, it has received a flood of orders from three major FIIs and Fis for the remaining 6.74 per cent holding. The lock-in period with several investors is now reaching the expiry date, Tirodkar said. Consultants Deloitte & Touche, who recently submitted the valuation report has valued GECS at Rs 4,500 crore and advised the price for selling the equity between Rs 350-400 per share. Tirodkar, however, did not comment on the company's plans to divest the remaining 6.74 per cent stake in the company. He said the investor picking up Global Tele equity in GECS will look for investors who can bring in value propositions to the company, including payment gateway and electronic fund transfer. On the rationale of selling the entire stake, Tirodkar said that global Tele does not have any majority control in GECS and by selling its stake it can utilize the money for retiring its debt and working capital requirement, invest in e-commerce and IT businesses. Source : BS Mar 10, 2000 http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2000/07/20/stories/152039gt.htm Global Tele - GESC swap ratio in 4 weeks Ashok Jainani MUMBAI, July 19 GLOBAL Tele-systems Ltd (GTL) has decided to amalgamate with itself an unlisted group company, Global Electronic Commerce Services Ltd (GECS). The board of GTL, at a meeting on Wednesday, decided to appoint two international chartered accountants firms as valuers to recommend the ratio for exchange of shares of GECS with GTL within four weeks. The GTL board also appointed a committee of two of its independent directors, Mr. T.N.V. Ayyar and Prof. S.C. Sahasrabudhe, to review and recommend to the board, for final approval, the terms and conditions of amalgamation and ratio of exchange of shares based on the valuation report submitted by M/s Deloitte Haskins & Sells and M/s Pannel Kerr Forster. M/s Salomon Smith Barney have been appointed as advisors in vetting and reviewing the business synergies for the proposed amalgamation. The GTL Executive Vice-Chairman, Mr. Manoj Tirodkar, said that the board decided to have the entire process of amalgamation to be transparent and objective as promoters are involved in both the companies by virtue of their holdings in both the companies. The merger, valued at over Rs. 9,000 crores, is intended to create one of the largest e-commerce entities with a revenue in excess of Rs. 900 crores. The merger will pool engineering, project management, software and knowledge skills leading to the rapid implementation of e-commerce projects and will provide the new entity with a first-mover advantage in the internet infrastructure. The merger will create an end-to-end e-commerce enabler comprising engineering services, software services, applications services provider, virtual private network, managed network services. By merging GTL and GECS, the combined entity will be uniquely positioned to speed the development of e-commerce business in delivering e-commerce and networking solutions through its own digital data network spanning across 14 major cities in India. GECS, an unlisted company with revenues of Rs. 50 crores and cash profit of Rs. 10.5 crores (net loss of Rs. 5 crores after depreciation of Rs. 15 crores) for the year ended March, 2000, is engaged in corporate internet infrastructure and access, data ce ntres, managed network services, virtual private network and messaging services in B2B space. It owns one of the largest private sector digital data networks spanning 14 major cities in India. Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Thursday, July 20, 2000

Saturday, November 29, 2014

HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times

New Delhi, February 25, 2014

First Published: 00:16 IST(25/2/2014)

Last Updated: 00:18 IST(25/2/2014) Print

Kejriwal may have CIA links, alleges Harsh Vardhan

BJP Delhi unit chief Harsh Vardhan on Monday questioned whether Kejriwal had links with foreign agencies, who were trying to create instability in the country. “Is he a CIA agent or working for other foreign agencies including CIA? Before forming a political party, Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia have already received lakhs of dollars from the Ford Foundation in the name of NGOs. The whole world knows that it works at the instance of American intelligence agency, the CIA. The Ford Foundation works for destabilising developing countries and spreading anarchy with the help of NGOs in those countries,” said Harsh Vardhan.

Vardhan’s attack comes a day after the AAP leader attacked BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.

Harsh Vardhan said Kejriwal had betrayed Delhiites by quitting within 49 days of forming the government, that too with the help of the Congress. The BJP leader, in turn, also called the Congress party the most corrupt. “Why didn’t he seek referendum at the time of resigning from the post of the chief minister?” Vardhan asked.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print/1187819.aspx?s=p

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I reproduce the article below as an example of pro- Suresh Prabhu propaganda. In fact, as a result of not purchasing the Enron stake in bankruptcy proceedings, the Indian Government has lost much more money till date on Dabhol.  

http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/general/politicians-muddy-murky-enron-deal-1.378037 Politicians muddy murky Enron deal Indian politicians across the spectrum have paid lip-service to enacting a 'Freedom of Information Bill' on the lines of its American counterpart. By T. V. R. ShenoyPublished: 00:00 February 11, 2002Gulf News Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on emailShare on printMore Sharing Services1 Indian politicians across the spectrum have paid lip-service to enacting a 'Freedom of Information Bill' on the lines of its American counterpart. This is pure farce – something on the lines of that sister legislation, the 'Women's Reservation Bill'. There is nothing politicians and, even more so, bureaucrats would abhor as much as unhindered public access to information. And recent events in the United States have underlined that gut instinct. Dana Milbank and Alan Sipress of The Washington Post used their nation's 'Freedom of Information Act' to gain access to the government-funded Overseas Private Investment Corporation. Their aim was Enron, specifically to see what the fallen giant had been doing abroad. In the process, the two reporters came across an attempt at a shotgun wedding which American officials were trying to arrange between Enron and some of the most powerful men today in the Government of India. The documents reveal a couple of amazing facts. First, the attempted negotiation was carried out by the U.S. National Security Council, one of the highest policy-making bodies in that country. Second, the Ame-rican side took the Enron issue so seriously that it continued with the work even after the World Trade Centre attacks when terrorism was, supposedly, the over-riding issue. Here is a small sample of the documents published by The Washington Post. In an e-mail message sent on June 26, 2001, the U.S. National Security Council said: "He would also be willing to meet with Kenneth Lay (the then chairman of Enron) and the bankers, but only at the residence (of the Indian ambassador)." It is, I think, unfair to name the Indian official concerned as there is no indication of whether such a meeting actually went through. However, these things cannot remain under wraps forever. My friends, both in Delhi and in Washington, tell me that the Bush administration put almost unheard-of pressure on India to accommodate Enron's requests. This attempt was at its peak between September 14, 2001 and November 9, 2001. That last date is significant, being the day that Prime Minister Vajpayee met President Bush. According to the record, there was a move to raise the Enron issue even at that conference, an attempt that was given up almost literally at the last minute. Later, as Enron began to unravel in public, the pressure began to ease. Dealing with the bankruptcy of Enron and the larger issues of corporate governance is, of course, an American headache. But the cursory references to India intrigued me enough to poke around a bit on my own. Very briefly, I submit that there was a strong pro-Enron group in the Government of India as there was in the U.S. federal government. This group – I don't believe it was all the work of an individual – was powerful enough to make a concerted attempt to hoodwink the Government of India. It did, in fact, get both the Prime Minister's Office and the Union Ministry of Finance to see things Enron's way. At the end, it was only the watchfulness of the Prime Minister himself and the Union Power Ministry which kept India from suffering a loss of roughly Rs60 billion. (Some say it could have been more.) That was the amount – over a billion U.S. dollars – that Kenneth Lay demanded as "compensation" for buying out Enron's share in Dabhol. He did not specify how he had arrived at that sum. Nor, as far as I know, did the pro-Enron Indian officials arrange for any audit of their own. Yet, seemingly in an attempt to make the White House happy, there was a push to give Enron whatever it desired. If this was carelessness, then it almost amounts to criminal negligence. Enron's bankruptcy was not exactly a bolt from the blue. As early as January 2001, the Attorney-General of California publicly stated that he would try to have Kenneth Lay jailed. The investment house Moodys had downgraded Enron's shares, calling them just average even if they belonged to a Fortune 500 firm. Given these straws in the wind, how did Indian officials decide to accept Enron's valuation? How did officers in both the Prime Minister's Office and the Finance Ministry try to rush through the money that Enron was seeking? The tale gets even more shocking. After the prime minister and the Union Power Minister squelched the initial demand for $1.2 billion, the pro-Enron group in Delhi refused to give up. Enron came back asking for $800 million. (Apparently, Dabhol had lost one-third of its value overnight!) Yet again, there was no explanation of how this figure was reached. Yet again, there was no attempt by India to have an independent audit. So riddle me this: which bureaucrats in the Government of India are so arrogant in their own power that they tried to overturn a decision made by the Prime Minister and the Power Minister? Equally important: who were so powerful that they could rush a proposal through the Union Finance Ministry without going through approved procedures of valuation? I suspect this is one scandal which cuts across parties. The original Dabhol deal was struck with Enron by a Congress (I) ministry in Maharashtra, and that at a very suspicious time. (The votes had been cast but not yet counted in the Assembly polls that would bring the Shiv Sena-BJP coalition to power.) And it seems the Enron issue came up even when a Congress leader met the American Vice-President last year. (Again, I name no names.) I am happy Prime Minister Vajpayee and Power Minister Suresh Prabhu squelched the pro-Enron group in Delhi and saved over a billion dollars. But should the errant officials be permitted to rest in anonymity, or should all the facts come out into the open after investigation? It may be just as well to air the matter before the American media does so, would it not! (TVR Shenoy is a well known political analyst)

https://www.indiacurrents.com/articles/2004/03/04/and-pigs-fly-on-mars-too

And Pigs Fly on Mars, Too

Dilip D'Souza • Published on March 4, 2004

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Heard of interlinking rivers? In India these days, this phrase refers to a gigantic proposed project to link several of India’s rivers. It would involve canals and dams and much more to transfer water across hundreds of miles of Indian geography. In the last year or so, it has been endorsed and encouraged by our Supreme Court and president. The Vajpayee government has formed a Task Force on Interlinking of Rivers chaired by the former union minister for power, Suresh Prabhu, to implement it.

Predictably, the project has dedicated proponents and opponents. On an e-list I belong to, I hear from vocal and passionate members of both sides. Not long ago, one vocal proponent circulated an account of a meeting in Houston that Prabhu attended last June to drum up support for the project. Prabhu was enthusiastically received, he said, and made very compelling arguments for linking rivers. So compelling, that a senior scientist from NASA, an Indian immigrant, endorsed the project whole-heartedly. The scientist, said this account, “appreciated the energetic minister’s speech and said [NASA] would use Prabhu’s model if NASA needs to link rivers on Mars.”

Now I would think this had to be a joke. Wouldn’t you? But this man reported it as just one more point in favor of the project made at the meeting. So I tracked down this scientist and wrote him a note. Here’s his reply:

“My comment about linking rivers on Mars based on Mr. Prabhu’s discussion is not to be taken seriously. It was a comment made jokingly to lighten the mood of the meeting. I am surprised that [the man] considered this light-hearted humorous comment as serious.

[Also,] in my personal opinion: there are many aspects of this project that need further development. I am not a hydrologist or a hydraulics engineer, but my engineering colleagues tell me that this concept is still at phase zero.”

Isn’t that interesting? A joke by a man who is not even persuaded of the merits of this project is twisted to sound like he—and by implication NASA—endorses the project.

In fact, here in India we heard that the Lower Colorado River Authority in Texas offered, as a result of Prabhu’s Texas tour, its support for the project. Is that another misconstrued joke?

Now I, and a lot of other people, have many questions about linking rivers. A big project does throw up questions, and previous projects have never satisfactorily answered them. But more than that, it is the curiously inept duplicity of the NASA episode that makes people like me even more skeptical about such projects. And so we ask our questions again, and louder. Here are just three:

Question 1: Precisely what is the problem for which linking our rivers is the solution? Suresh Prabhu once said that it “would lead to creating employment, power generation, economic growth, and elimination of poverty.” Other things often mentioned are floods in water-surplus areas, droughts elsewhere, falling food production, and irrigation.

Fine aims. Any one of all these, by itself, might be reason enough for this gigantic effort; all of them, even more so. Nobody argues that these are not serious concerns. Yet the evidence is that it’s hardly because of them that river-linking suddenly came to life, and found itself an official Task Force. Because that happened when a Justice of the Supreme Court made an observation, in a different context, about linking rivers. Does an observation, even from the Supreme Court, amount to the normal—or what should be normal—process of identifying a problem and working out its solution?

Which, of course, leads directly to …

Question 2: Is it clear that linking rivers is the best solution to the problems it is claimed to solve? Are 5.6 trillion rupees—yes, almost $125 billion, and as a taxpayer some of that will be my money—best spent this way over the next 10 years to address these problems? Or was this just assumed and then stated to be the case?

If we are told that linking rivers will eliminate floods, say, who are the experts who have studied floods and come to this conclusion? Where are their studies? What were the other possible solutions they considered before pronouncing this one best? How do they answer those who suggest, for example, that we cannot really control floods; that instead, we have to learn to live with them and ensure that they cause as little damage as possible?

Why must Question 2 be asked? Because the way this project is going, it seems it’s been decided that rivers must be linked, period. After all, the Task Force is charged with the “modalities of implementing” the project, and that on a “war-footing.” Not with the prior steps: spell out the problems, identify possible solutions, evaluate them, and then decide whether and how to proceed.

It may certainly turn out that linking rivers is the best way to proceed. But where is the effort to decide, and then persuade us, that it is? Or is the sheer audaciousness of the idea, given the starry eyes it generates, assumed to be persuasion enough?

Starry eyes lead to …

Question 3: This time, may we have some transparency? In essence, this is the demand of those who criticized Enron’s activities in India, or other major projects; it is the demand of those who are less than starry-eyed about linking our rivers. Tell us what is going on. Don’t take decisions without explaining their rationale thoroughly. Do the requisite studies and release their reports for public consumption. Take us into confidence. The tragedy is this: now that Enron in India is effectively dead, we know its critics were right in every respect. What would have happened had we listened to them, instead of dismissing them as “anti-development” nuts, as critics of linking rivers are already labeled? We would not have had a white elephant of a “power plant” disfiguring the Konkan coast, rusting while its builder crumbles in shame and scandal, while the rest of us scramble to find some way to use the beast.

The thing is, it’s experiences like Enron that make us cynical today about linking rivers. That, and oddly enough, Mars.

A computer scientist by training, Dilip D’Souza now writes for his supper in Bombay. His main interests are social and political issues in India.