We told you so

Nobody these days is taking auditor reports seriously — this is the common refrain from the auditing community. And not even the reports of the government auditor, CAG, it appears. No sooner did the horrific three-train collision near Balasore late on Friday shook the nation, social media was abuzz with posts as to how a Comptroller and Auditor General of India’s report on ‘Derailment in Indian Railways’ — tabled in Parliament in December 2022 — had highlighted that seven out of 10 rail accidents between 2017-18 and 2020-21 were due to derailments. Typically, track defects and engineering/ maintenance issues were the causes of these derailments, the report had highlighted. One may argue that things take lot of time in government before CAG reports are acted upon; however, there can’t be excuses on safety matters and they have to be promptly addressed.

While the final report on the devastating collision of three trains is awaited, the government auditor can take some solace that it did its job well in highlighting the cracks in the Railways’ safety management system!

Return on investment

SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch, in an event to inaugurate a new AMFI office recently, said she always believes in return on investment. “Last year the industry called me for many events but I was not accepting as they were delaying implementation of norms,” said the SEBI chief. However, “when they invited me for this event I accepted it immediately as the return on investment has improved,” she said, in a subtle reference to better compliance by the mutual fund industry.

Missing Sengol

A Balasubramanian, Chairman, AMFI, was all gung-ho at the inauguration of a new office. He said it was a proud moment as the office was being inaugurated a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated a new Parliament to the country, but the only difference being the absence of a Sengol. He was also all enthused by the Prime Minister acknowledging the role of mutual funds as a counter-force to foreign investors in turbulent times.

Filmy style

Gold smugglers tried to copy a scene from Kamal Haasan’s old blockbuster Naayakan in real life but failed. In the movie the actor drops the contraband goods into the sea when police were approaching the boat, and later retrieves it. The smugglers tried the same technique when officials of the Department of Revenue Intelligence and India Coast Guard in a joint operation intercepted the fishing boat after a long chase. The contraband parcel containing 11.6 kg of foreign origin gold valued at ₹7.13 crore was retrieved from the seabed with the help of Coast Guard’s expert divers, and the same along with the boat was seized.

Bouncers in demand

Bouncers are normally hired to thwart trouble-makers in clubs or functions. Of late, some private hospitals in Kochi have started hiring them for security purposes. The rising instances of patients and bystanders turning violent have prompted hospital managements to seek bouncers’ service. Clad in black T-shirts, the bouncers have been specifically instructed not to get involved in any law-and-order issues. Instead, they may assist the hospital staff to bring a given situation under control. Doctors’ associations have been raising a hue and cry over a spate of hospital related violence following the murder of a house surgeon during consultation.

comment COMMENT NOW