Convergence Bill finalised, CCI head to be chosen
New Delhi: The bill to put India’s place firmly ahead in the current IT revolution, the Convergence Bill, was finalised by a sub-group headed by noted jurist Fali Nariman.

The sub-group has also stated that key position of the chairperson of the Communication Commission of India to be set up under the provisions of this bill will be selected by a high-powered team that will include the chief justice of India.

The move to have the chief justice sit in the selection procedure is to have a person with proven ability and impeccable integrity do the selection so that any allegations of partisanship and insinuations of political interference can be avoided. Further, with the Commission being a quasi judicial body, it was thought that the inclusion of the chief justice would bring a modicum of impartiality into the selection process.

The finalised Bill, which has taken into account several thousand representations from the general public, will now be sent to the cabinet for ratification, after which it will be tabled in parliament for approval.

It is understood that while the broad features of the draft Bill have been retained, in order to make the appointments more open, objective and fool-proof, the recommendations would be routed through the minister concerned to the Speaker of the Lok Sabha. The recommendation would then be approved by the Appointment Committee headed by the Prime Minister, which would seek the President’s approval.

Once enacted, the Bill would repeal The Indian Telegraph Act, 1885; The Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1933; Telegraph Wire Unlawful Possession Act, 1950, among others.
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IFC approves of changes in Global Trust
New Delhi: The International Finance Corporation, which is the second largest shareholder in the troubled Global Trust Bank, endorsed the management changes which saw the appointment of Mr. RS Hugar, as the new chairman and managing director of the bank. The changes have been brought about by the resignation of Mr. Ramesh Gelli, who was embroiled in a share price rigging scandal.

Mr. Geli stepped down from the post of chairman and managing director following the controversy over his alleged involvement with broker Ketan Parekh resulting in price manipulation of the scrip prior to its proposed merger with UTI Bank.
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