Vinod Rai IAS (Retd.) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chairman ofBanks Board Bureau | |
| In office 30 January 2017 (2017-01-30) – 31 March 2018 (2018-03-31) | |
| Preceded by | Position Established |
| Succeeded by | Bhanu Pratap Sharma |
| 11thComptroller and Auditor General of India | |
| In office 7 January 2008 (2008-01-07) – 22 May 2013 (2013-05-22) | |
| Preceded by | VN Kaul |
| Succeeded by | Shashi Kant Sharma |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1948-05-23)23 May 1948 (age 77) |
| Education | Economics (B.A,M.A) Masters in Public Administration |
| Alma mater | University of Delhi Harvard University |
| Known for | Audits on2G spectrum allocation,coal allocation |
Vinod Rai (born 23 May 1948) is a retiredIAS officer who served as the 11thComptroller and Auditor General of India. He assumed office on 7 January 2008 till 22 May 2013.[1][2] He is the current chairman ofUN Panel of External Auditors and Honorary Advisor to theIndian Railways and a member of the Railway Kaya Kalp Council.
The most prominent action of CAG under Vinod Rai was the report that stated that the2G sprectrum allocation by the government had caused a loss of over₹1 lakh crore (equivalent to₹3.0 trillion or US$36 billion in 2023) to the government.[3] Rai was made the chairman of the Banking Board of India under the new government. On 30 January 2017, theSupreme Court of India appointed Rai as the interim president of theBoard of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).[4][5] He is the head of advisory commission ofKerala Infrastructure and Investment Board (KIIFB), appointed byGovernment of Kerala.
He was born in aBhumihar family[6] atGhazipur,Uttar Pradesh.[7] He did his schooling fromBirla Public School inPilani,Rajasthan. He graduated fromHindu College, University of Delhi.[8] He has a bachelor's and master's degree in economics fromDelhi School of Economics,University of Delhi andMPA fromHarvard University, USA in 1988. He chose to study Financial Administration at Harvard Kennedy school in 1987 while he held the position of District Collector and Magistrate in the state ofKerala, India.[9]
He is married and has three children.[10]
Rai is a 1972 batchKerala cadre officer ofIndian Administrative Service (IAS).[11] He started his career as the sub-collector ofThrissur District. Later, he became the Collector and spent his eight years of career inThrissur City. He was called the secondSakthan Thampuran for his role in the development of theThrissur City.[10] He was the MD of Kerala State Co-operative Marketing Federation from 1977 to 1980.[2] Later he was appointed as Principal Secretary (Finance) in the State Government of Kerala. He had served senior positions in the Ministries of Commerce and Defence, Government of India. Prior to his appointment as CAG, he served as Secretary, Financial Services and Additional Secretary in the Banking Division including banks and insurance companies underMinistry of Finance.[11]
Rai was instrumental in setting up the India Infrastructure Finance Company and was also on the Board of this company. Apart from serving in both, state and union governments, he has been a director on several Boards, including theState Bank of India,ICICI Bank,IDBI Bank,Life Insurance Corporation of India and Infrastructure Development and Finance Company of India.[12]
In February 2016, Rai was appointed the chairman of Banks Board Bureau (BBB), the body which advises the government on top-level appointments at public sector banks and ways to address the bad loans.[13][14]
He is the chairman of United Nations Panel of External Auditors[15] and member of the Governing Board of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI).[16] The United Nations Secretary-GeneralBan Ki-moon has appreciated the panel and the yeoman service rendered by the external auditors in improving governance in the United Nations system.[16] The panel headed by Vinod Rai discussed the major business transformations currently under way in the United Nations with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.[16] The Panel of External Auditors plays an important role in promoting accountability and strengthening governance mechanisms in the UN organisations.[16] Mr. Rai has taken over as the chairman of Governing Board of the Asian Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI) on 29 February 2012.[17]
Vinod Rai recommended that all private-public partnerships (PPPs), "Panchayti Raj Institutions" and societies benefiting from government funds should come within the ambit of the CAG. The PPP model is a popular medium for the execution of infrastructure projects worth millions of rupees, and these projects are not audited by the CAG. 60 percent of government spending does not currently come under the scrutiny of the CAG.[18]
He is widely credited for the report on issue of Licences and Allocation of 2G Spectrum byUnited Progressive Alliance government which resulted in a huge controversy in India. The report estimated that there was apresumptive loss of₹1,766.45 billion (US$21 billion).[19] In achargesheet filed on 2 April 2011 by the investigating agencyCentral Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the agency pegged the loss at₹309,845.5 million (US$3.7 billion)[20]
On 2 February 2012 theSupreme Court of India on apublic interest litigation (PIL) declared allotment of spectrum as"unconstitutional and arbitrary" and quashed all the 122 licenses issued in 2008 during tenure ofA. Raja (thenminister for communications & IT inUnited Progressive Alliance) the main accused.[21] The court further said thatA. Raja "wanted to favour some companies at the cost of the public exchequer" and "virtually gifted away important national asset".[22]In 2014, Rai namedSanjay Nirupam as one of the MPs who pressured him to leave former prime minister Dr. Manmohan Singh out of the report. Nirupam filed a defamation case against Rai in the Metropolitan Court in New Delhi’s Patiala house. In October 2021, he tendered unconditional apology to Mr. Sanjay Nirupam for the false accusations.[23] In a written affidavit Rai said: “That I have realised that in answer to questions posed to me by the interviewers, I had inadvertently and wrongly mentioned the name of Sanjay Nirupam as one of the MPs who pressurised me to keep the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s name out of the CAG report on 2G spectrum allocation during the meetings in the PAC or the sidelines of JPC.”[24]
Based on the recommendations by amicus curiae-senior advocateGopal Subramaniam who was investigating the issues of financial irregularities and mismanagement in the Padmanabhaswamy Temple, the Supreme Court of India issued an interim order on 24 April 2014 stating that Mr Vinod Rai will supervise special audit of property of temple. Rai responded by saying that he felt "very humbled" and said "With all sincerity I will take up the task".
As a part of his duty, Rai has many a times raised questions on faulty policy making of several state governments and Union government run byCongress ledUnited Progressive Alliance and BJP led Governments in Chhattisgarh and Gujarat. CAG criticised the government ofGoa for forest policy delay.[25]
There are certain times when ministers of ruling Congress coalition government criticised CAG. Minister of state in PMO,V. Narayanasamy said "CAG has no authority or right to comment on the policy of the government but unfortunately it has questioned its authority, which is totally unwarranted and against the mandate given to them".[26] However CAG Vinod Rai defended his position by stating at an Economic Editor's Conference in 2011 "I am making it clear that I do not think the CAG is exceeding its jurisdiction, because the basic responsibility of the CAG is to identify if there is any lapse," and challenged the government to identify the specific breach of mandate.[27]
It is noted with irony that while studying atDelhi School of Economics Vinod Rai was the student ofManmohan Singh who was serving as the professor during those days inDSE. Because years later the same student Vinod Rai turned out to be one of the reasons to not only exposed the corruption but led the downfall of his professor Manmohan Singh government.[28][29]
On 21 December 2017, a Special CBI Court acquitted all the persons accused in the 2G scam, a case set in motion by Vinod Rai. The Special Judge OP Saini stated in his judgement: "There is no evidence on the record produced before the Court indicating any criminality in the acts allegedly committed by the accused persons.” He added that “the chargesheet of the instant case is based mainly on misreading, selective reading, non-reading and out of context reading of the official record” and that "the chargesheet is based on some oral statements made by the witnesses during investigation, which the witnesses have not owned up in the witness box.”[30]
In October 2021, after Vinod Rai unconditionally apologized to Sanjay Nirupam, the Indian National Congress's leaderAdhir Ranjan Chaudhary said, "Vinod Rai the former CAG has proved himself as a stooge of BJP, who was entrusted upon playing a sinister design to tarnish the image of UPA Government by his quixotic, wilful and deliberate observations in the CAG paras. He should be punished for his dereliction of duties".[31] Then Congress's Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot accused, "Vinod Rai's false claims on 2G spectrum, Coal scam led to UPA's defeat".[32] Congress's Pawan Khera accused that, "Imagine a man who can lie to sell a book, what all can he do to push his own agenda and the agenda of his masters."[33]
He wroteNot Just an Accountant: The Diary of the Nations Conscience Keeper, which speaks about how the political system was exploited to violate laws in2G spectrum case, Krishna-Godavari gas basin contract,Commonwealth Games scam,Indian coal allocation scam and the controversial purchase of aircraft.[34]
| Year | Name | Awarding organisation | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Alumnus of the Decade | Old Students Association, Hindu College, University of Delhi | [35] |
| 2013 | Civil Servant achieving Excellence in Public Administration | Mannapuram Finance Limited | |
| 2013 | Outstanding contribution to the Indian economy | CNBC TV18 | |
| 2016 | Padma Bhushan (Civil Service)[36] | Government of India |
He figured as one of the Persons of the Year inForbes magazine in January 2011.[37]
In December 2011, he was chosen as the chief of UNexternal audit panel.[38][39]
In February 2012, CAG was complimented for professionalism, training and infrastructure by itsUS counterpart.[40]
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