The board of ICICI Bank has finally acted on the allegations(आरोपों) of misconduct against
its CEO and managing director, Chanda Kochhar. It had
earlier maintained that she was on annual personal
leave; now, she will stay away from the office till
the completion of an inquiry into the charges levelled against her by a
whistle-blower. Rather(बल्कि/अधिक उचित रूप से) than
allow the controversy to fester, the board of ICICI Bank, an institution that
often sought to hold a mirror up to the inefficiencies(निष्फलता/प्रभावहीनता)
of public sector banks, should have acted earlier. Till the inquiry is complete
the bank will be steered(चलाया/मार्गदर्शन करना) by
a new chief operating officer, Sandeep Bakhshi. The official version is that he
will report to Ms. Kochhar, who herself took the decision to go on leave till
the end of the inquiry — but this is at best a face-saving cover for a board
that was reluctant(अनिच्छुक/असन्तुष्ट) to act since the
controversy broke. Meanwhile, the tenure of M.K. Sharma, the chairman of the
bank’s board, is set to end this month and there is still no clarity on his
successor. This extended uncertainty(अनिश्चितता/विकल्प) in
a crisis(संकट) situation is unwarranted. ICICI
Bank’s troubles are rooted in a 2016 complaint by an investor alleging a quid
pro quo deal between Ms. Kochhar’s immediate family members and the Videocon
group, which got a ₹3,250-crore loan from it. When this ‘conflict(संघर्ष) of interest’ complaint resurfaced(पुनर्निर्माण करना/बदल देना) in the
public domain this year, Mr. Sharma said he had personally inquired(पूछताछ) into it two years earlier and
found nothing amiss.earlier maintained that she was on annual personal
With the Central Bureau of Investigation and later the stock
market regulator SEBI swooping(झुकाव) in,
the issue of whether the bank had failed to make adequate(पर्याप्त) disclosures(भंडाफोड़/परदाफ़ाश) about
its dealings with the borrower (who is now a defaulter) and a firm related to
Ms. Kochhar’s husband was spotlighted(चर्चित). The
bank is yet to respond to SEBI, but changed tack after the latter decided to
launch a probe into allegations of a quid pro quo and alleged misconduct(क़सूर/अवगुण) by Ms. Kochhar. Three
weeks on, the names of the members of and terms of reference for the probe
panel to be led by retired Supreme Court judge B.N. Srikrishna are still
awaited. It is debatable whether such a high-profile panel is required to
ascertain if Ms. Kochhar, whose term ends next March, had made adequate
disclosures while deciding on the loans. The board itself could have dealt with
this through an internal investigation rather than giving the impression that
it wanted to paper over the issue, sending a poor signal to all stakeholders.
No doubt Ms. Kochhar, a star on the corporate firmament(आसमान) ,
enjoys a formidable(घोर/भयंकर) reputation as a banker.
While one should not prejudge the inquiry findings, there is no doubt that
the strength(शक्ति) of corporate governance practices
in the bank has come under question because of the way the issue has played
out.
Important Vocabulary
1.Inefficiencies(निष्फलता/प्रभावहीनता)
Synonyms: carelessness, disorganization, inability, incapability, wastefulness
Synonyms: carelessness, disorganization, inability, incapability, wastefulness
2.Steered(चलाया/मार्गदर्शन
करना)
Synonyms:drive, escort, govern, herd, shepherd
Antonyms: abandon, obey
Synonyms:drive, escort, govern, herd, shepherd
Antonyms: abandon, obey
3.Conflict(संघर्ष)
Synonyms: battle, clash, combat, competition, rivalry, strife
Antonyms: peace, truce, agreement, calm, harmony
Synonyms: battle, clash, combat, competition, rivalry, strife
Antonyms: peace, truce, agreement, calm, harmony
4.Reluctant(अनिच्छुक/असन्तुष्ट)
Synonyms: afraid, averse, cautious, circumspect, hesitant
Antonyms: bold, careless, certain, confident, definite
Synonyms: afraid, averse, cautious, circumspect, hesitant
Antonyms: bold, careless, certain, confident, definite
5.Misconduct(क़सूर/अवगुण)
Synonyms: dereliction, immorality, impropriety, malfeasance, malpractice
Antonyms: behavior, obedience, manners
Synonyms: dereliction, immorality, impropriety, malfeasance, malpractice
Antonyms: behavior, obedience, manners
6.Spotlighted(चर्चित
Synonyms: fame, light, limelight, notoriety, public eye
Antonyms: obscurity
Synonyms: fame, light, limelight, notoriety, public eye
Antonyms: obscurity
7.Swooping(झुकाव)
Synonyms: dive, plummet, pounce, fall, plunge
Antonyms: ascend, rise
Synonyms: dive, plummet, pounce, fall, plunge
Antonyms: ascend, rise
8.Formidable(घोर/भयंकर)
Synonyms:dangerous, daunting, dire, dreadful, fierce
Antonyms: calm, poor, trivial, unimportant, unthreatening
Synonyms:dangerous, daunting, dire, dreadful, fierce
Antonyms: calm, poor, trivial, unimportant, unthreatening