Nominations raise brows at IIM-A

Questions are being raised within the IIM-A Society on the ministry of human resources development's sudden nomination of its joint secretary V S Pandey and financial advisor V Piparsania to the board of governors of the institute.

S R Tripathi, secretary (higher and technical education) of the ministry and Pandey's senior, and Anil Ambani, vice-chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries, had to make way on December 26 when MHRD asked IIM-A to induct the two.

This was when all the four positions for government nominees were already filled up. At that time, Tripathi, Anil Ambani, vice-chairman of Reliance Industries, Suresh Neotia, chairman of the Gujarat Ambuja Group, and Naresh Narad, secretary of the department of the heavy industries, Government of India, were the four government nominees.

While the ministry asked Tripathi to make space for Pandey, Piparsania was inducted in place of Anil Ambani. Ambani, however, was reinducted as a nominee under the trade, industries category.

It was the slot occupied by Narayana Murthy of Infosys. Murthy had, by then, become the chairman of the board. Murthy, by then, had become the chairman of the board.