Nasscom no authority to probe Satyam-WB episode, reacts Som Mittal

Reacting to a request by an IT-BPO union UNITES to conduct inquiry into the Satyam-World Bank fiasco, IT industry body Nasscom on Friday said that it has no authority to look into the matter.

"It is a company-level issue and we do not have any authority to conduct an inquiry into the matter," Nasscom President Som Mittal said, adding that he was yet to received a formal request in this regard.

Fearing that the image of the Indian IT firms globally will take a beating following the Satyam fiasco, IT-BPO union UNITES has urged Nasscom to institute an inquiry in association with the World Bank on Satyam,which has been banned from doing business with the bank for eight years.

"We want the inquiry to look into the possibility that some vested interests, who want to tarnish the good name and reputation of the Indian IT companies," Prithviraj Lekkad, President, UNITES Professionals India told PTI.

Nasscom and the government would have to decisively intervene and get to the bottom of the World Bank findings on Satyam and clear the fair name of Indian firms, including Satyam, and the integrity of the staff working for them abroad, he added.

The Bank had said on December 23said, "Satyam was declared ineligible for contracts for providing improper benefits to Bank staff and for failing to maintain documentation to support fees charges for its sub-contractors.

Within two days of the Bank's announcement, Satyam had formally requested the World Bank to immediately withdraw those statements and asked it to "issue a new statement apologising to Satyam for the harm done to the company due to the Bank's actions."

Source: Agencies