Govt suspends 3 directors of SAIL, NMDC for alleged misconduct

New Delhi: The Steel Ministry has suspended two board-level officials of steel PSU SAIL and one director of iron ore major NMDC for alleged misconduct, according to exchange filings by the companies.

SAIL also has suspended 26 other officials with immediate effect for violation of its code of conduct, the steel PSU said in a filing to BSE.

The filing said the Ministry of Steel vide its letters dated January 19, 2024, "in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-rule (1) of Rule 20 of the Conduct, Discipline and Appeal Rules, 1977 of Steel Authority of India Limited, has placed V.S. Chakravarthy, Director (Commercial) and A.K. Tulsiani, Director (Finance) on suspension with immediate effect".

Another Steel Ministry PSU NMDC also announced that its board-level official, V. Suresh, has been suspended with immediate effect.

"Ministry of Steel...in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-rule 1 of Rule 20 of the Conduct, Discipline and Appeal Rules, 1978 of NMDC Ltd. has placed V. Suresh, Director (Commercial), NMDC Ltd. under suspension with immediate effect," NMDC said.

SAIL also said that 26 below-board-level officials of the company have also been suspended with immediate effect "The company has also placed some below-board level officials which include S.K. Sharma, ED (F&A), CMC, Vinod Gupta, ED (Commercial), Atul Mathur, ED (Sales & ITD) and R.M. Suresh, ED (Marketing Services), on suspension with immediate effect," it said.

In a separate statement, SAIL said the issue pertains to some investigations being carried out as per the directions of Lokpal.

SAIL Chairman Amarendu Prakash said "The company’s business is being carried out as usual and it is not going to impact the performance of the company. We are dedicated to uphold the highest standards of corporate governance and ethical conduct. SAIL continues to stand strong in the industry focussing on quality and customer satisfaction." SAIL, under the Ministry of Steel, is the country's largest steel-making company, while NMDC is India's largest iron ore producing entity.