Business Standard

ISMA to get new director general after a year

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Ajay Modi New Delhi

The Indian Sugar Mills Association (Isma), the powerful sugar lobby group, is all set to get its new director general almost a year after the unceremonious exit of its former director-general, Shanti Lal Jain. Avinash Verma, former director of Sugar Development Fund in the food ministry, is set to take charge at Isma.

“Verma had been approached by Isma and he has resigned from government service to take charge of the sugar body,” said an industry official. The members of Isma are scheduled to meet on July 8 to formally approve and announce Verma’s appointment. Secretary-general M N Rao had been overseeing all functions of Isma after Jain agreed to retire in July last year.

 

Jain quit following the discovery of speculative trading and huge losses by the Indian Sugar Exim Corporation (ISEC) in June 2009. Prior to his exit, Jain served as director general for more than two decades and had been highly influential at the industry and government level.

ISEC is a body promoted by Isma along with the National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories. Apart from heading Isma, Jain also used to look after ISEC as its member-secretary. A case filed by ISEC against Jain has been with the Economic Offences Wing of Mumbai Police.

ISEC was found to have incurred a loss of Rs 20 crore in speculative trading of derivative products. This trading had been going on for more than three years without the knowledge of other Isma officials.

In addition, ISEC incurred a loss of Rs 46 crore in 2008-09 in the process of exporting 750,000 tonnes of raw sugar. These losses were primarily on account of demurrage, currency fluctuation and default by some supplier mills.

Following this discovery at Isma, a number of member companies had been pushing for a revamp of the organisational set-up to bring greater transparency in its working.

The country’s biggest sugar company, Bajaj Hindusthan, had quit Isma in 2004 on ideological differences when it was headed by Jain. Various Isma members opine that the absence of the biggest player from Isma has rendered it weak and less effective.

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First Published: Jul 05 2010 | 1:15 AM IST

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