Ask God or Nilekani: Tyagi on latter’s remark

Under fire in the wake of whistle-blower complaints about alleged accounting lapses at the country’s second largest software exporter, Nilekani had said processes at the company are so strong that even God cannot change the numbers. “You have to ask him or you can ask God,” Tyagi told reporters when asked about his view on Nilekani’s comments. Speaking on the sidelines of an event organised by industry body CII here, Tyagi said Sebi is probing the matter and that he has nothing to say on the allegations at present. “Investors should draw their own conclusions. Whatever we have to do, we are doing. Whatever is the outcome you would know,” Tyagi noted.

On Wednesday, Nilekani asserted that the company operates with the highest integrity, and that “even God can’t change the numbers of this company”. When asked whether any information has been shared with American regulator SEC since Infosys is also listed in the US, Tyagi declined to elaborate saying it is a confidential correspondence between two regulators.

Meanwhile, Tyagi said there is a need for increasing the flow of issues in the market and that compliance with minimum shareholding norms by state-run entities would be of help. According to him, 45 of the 91 listed government-controlled entities are not meeting the requirement to have a free float of 25 per cent. “Such companies actually need to come forward and increase the visibility in the market and this is something which can be done and I think it should be done and we have conveyed this to the government also,” the Sebi Chairman said.