Limaye's NSE top job in balance, BCCI told to drop contentious deal

CoA has been appointed by the Supreme Court to manage the affairs of BCCI

A panel of administrators running the Indian cricket board has moved to stop an agreement that could have hurt IDFC Managing Director Vikram Limaye’s appointment as CEO of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) even as the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is yet to approve the same — apparently due to questions over conflicts of interest arising from his position in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

 

The Committee of Administrators (CoA), appointed by the Supreme Court to manage the affairs of BCCI, has not cleared an agreement that proposed to appoint Dhruva Advisors LLP as tax advisor to the cricket board.

 

Limaye is one of the four members of the CoA, the others being former comptroller and auditor-general Vinod Rai, historian Ramachandra Guha and former Indian women’s cricket team captain Diana Edulji. Rai is also the non-executive independent chairman of IDFC.

 

Dinesh Hasmukhrai Kanabar, CEO of Dhruva Advisors, was part of the four-member search committee that picked Limaye as CEO of the NSE. Kanabar is also an independent director at NSE.

 

In its meeting on February 1, the CoA had empowered BCCI chief executive Rahul Johri to implement the functioning of the board in the interim period following the removal of BCCI office bearers as part of a wider move to reform the board. BCCI subsequently proposed engaging Dhruva Advisors as its tax advisor.

 

It is learnt that with Sebi still in the process of vetting Limaye’s appointment, and questions of possible conflict of interest being raised, the CoA has decided to drop this proposed contract.

 

Sebi is reportedly yet to approve Limaye’s appointment as the NSE’s chief executive as it is not sure whether he could do justice as the head of the country’s biggest stock exchange if he continues in his role of managing BCCI.

 

Limaye himself is believed to have communicated the decision to drop Dhruva Advisors to other members of the CoA as well as BCCI officials through an email on Wednesday. “EL (engagement letter) of Dhruva was not approved by the CoA in April meeting and therefore does not need to be approved by secretary,” Limaye had said, ThePrint has learnt.

 

“There was a proposal from BCCI management to engage Dhruva, which was discussed. But given Limaye’s situation with the NSE and in the interest of good governance, this was not deemed appropriate and hence, not gone through with,” said Rajesh Chaturvedi, chairman of AdFactors PR, BCCI’s public relations agency.

 

A four-member selection committee comprising two public interest directors at the NSE — Dinesh Kanabar and Mohandas Pai, chairman of Manipal Global Education — and two independent experts — Anand Mahindra, chairman of Mahindra Group, and Usha Thorat, former deputy governor of Reserve Bank of India, picked Limaye for the NSE post earlier this year. In January this year, the apex court appointed the CoA to oversee the running of BCCI until fresh elections are held according to recommendations of the Justice RM Lodha committee.

 

The report is carried courtesy ThePrint