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Maharashtra Energy Minister <keyword id="87586" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nitin-Raut">Nitin Raut</keyword> on Wednesday said "foul play or sabotage" has not been ruled out in the mega-power shortage that tripped Mumbai Metropolitan Region on Monday and added that stringent action will be taken against all found guilty. Addressing the media, he said that the interim report of a probe committee set up by the state government will submit its report in a week and its recommendations would be implemented. Besides, a central team which came here on Tuesday is also probing into the incident that left large parts of MMR without power for periods ranging from 2-9 hours, playing havoc with the people, railways, traffic, business and commercial activities. "There are certain protocols that must be adhered to whenever any maintenance work is taken up. We shall investigate whether these protocols were followed or not by the officials of MahaVitaran. However, we don't rule out the possibility of sabotage or foul play and stringent action will be taken against those found guilty," Raut asserted. Late on Tuesday, in a cryptic statement, Raut had said: "Possibility of a sabotage cannot be ruled out in respect of the Power trip that resulted in blackout on Monday dated 12.10.20 at Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Thane." According to officials on Monday, some maintenance work was taken up on the 400KV line in Kalwa and entire load was shifted to the line 2, which in turn tripped owing to some technical glitches and the cascading effect hit almost the entire MMR comprising Mumbai, Thane, parts of Palghar and Raigad districts. While private distributors like Adani, Tata and BEST had restored supply in their respective regions on Monday, some areas served by MahaVitaran remained without power for another around 24 hours, and resumed on Tuesday. Targeting the Minister, Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party legislator Atul Bhatkalkar asked Raut when he came to know it was "a sabotage" whether he informed Home Minister Anil Deshmukh in the matter. However, Raut responded by saying some people were trying to malign his department but the probe reports would reveal everything. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/wipro-share-price-dips-after-earnings-report-analysts-believe-it-will-take-a-while-to-catch-up-to-tcs-and-hcl-technologies/articleshow/78654023.cms">Wipro’s share price dips by over 6% after earnings — analysts believe it will take a while to catch up to TCS and HCL Technologies</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/apple-new-iphone-12-series-with-5g-launched-starting-at-rs-69999-along-with-side-homepod-mini-debut/articleshow/78647779.cms">Apple's new iPhone 12 series with 5G launched starting at ₹ 69,999 along with HomePod Mini debut</a>

Mumbai's massive power outage probe yet to rule out 'foul play' or 'sabotage'

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The sun is entering a period of peak activity that will last several years, an expert said.</li><li>This means the sun will produce more solar flares, powerful bursts of energy.</li></ul>The sun is waking up after almost a decade of relative calm and could reach peak activity by the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/solar-maximum-could-sooner-than-expected-2023-6">end of this year</a>, scientists say — and that could <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/2012-solar-storm-almost-ended-life-on-earth-2014-7">cause problems on Earth</a>.As more <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronal-hole-on-sun-blasts-solar-wind-toward-earth-2023-3?r=US&amp;IR=T">sunspots</a> appear on the surface of our star during its <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-video-footage-shows-sun-solar-activity-increasing-2023-5">active period</a>, it may prompt more <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/solar-storms-flares-dangerous-effects-earth-sun?r=US&amp;IR=T">solar storms</a>, creating bursts of electromagnetic energy that can affect everything from the power grid to GPS signals.These so-called <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/next-solar-maximum-2025-what-expect-cycle-2023-4">solar maximums</a> occur roughly every 11 years, and they haven't been much of a problem in the past.Scientists, however, fear that our reliance on electricity and interconnectivity could mean we're <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/solar-flare-from-sunspot-caused-widespread-radio-blackouts-earth-2023-5">far more vulnerable</a> to their effects this time around.<h2>The sun's poles are flipping</h2><div type="image" title="Photo of the sun 'smiling'" height="768" width="1024" msid="98307418" hostid="261"></div>The sun is a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sun-images-reveal-creepy-threads-holes-light-bridge-solar-surface-2023-5">big ball of plasma</a>, heated at its center. The plasma, which is made of charged particles, boils toward the surface, cools down, and sinks back toward the core again.That motion, called convection, is what creates strong magnetic fields at the poles and smaller, local magnetic fields at the surface of the sun.Every 11 years or so, the sun becomes "convectively unstable," meaning its magnetic fields become so unstable that the magnetic north and south poles abruptly flip, throwing our star's polarity out of whack, said Mathew Owens, a professor of space physics at the University of Reading.That instability causes havoc in the magnetic fields at the surface of the sun, which become much more active. That's when the solar maximum happens.<h2>We'll see more sunspots and they might get bigger</h2><div type="image" title="A video from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory shows the massive hole in the sun's atmosphere." height="768" width="1024" msid="98912033" hostid="261"></div>As the magnetic fields become more confused, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-see-sunspot-four-times-size-of-earth-2023-5">bigger sun spots</a> can appear on the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/photo-international-space-station-hidden-passing-sun-2023-4">surface of the sun</a>. "We're already seeing a lot more <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/photos-iss-nasa-astronauts-spacewalk-sunspot-big-enough-swallow-earth-2023-6">big sunspots</a>," Owens said in late February. "There's a few this last week or so that were visible to the naked eye," he said, though he cautioned you shouldn't look straight to the sun which can damage your eyes, and only see these through strong filters.He wasn't wrong. A huge "hole" the size of 30 Earths, pictured above, was spotted on the sun by <a href="https://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/assets/img/latest/latest_1024_0193.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory</a> on Monday. <h2>Solar storms could ground planes</h2><div type="image" title="A video feed from the ISS shows the ionosphere glowing green under red auroras as the Earth turns below it." height="360" width="720" msid="98307421" hostid="261"></div>The sun is much more likely to throw energy our way during its maxima.As the sun's local <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/solar-storms-timelapse-video-sun-chaotic-peak-activity-noaa-2023-6">magnetic fields get more tangled</a> and crash into each other, they can explode. Energy and charged particles from the sun are then ejected into space.That energy can affect communication by messing with the ionosphere, a layer of charged particles in our upper atmosphere. That could cause problems for air travel."Space weather can ground flights," Owens said, adding that the Federal Aviation Administration "won't allow flights if they don't have both radio and satellite communications."A 2023 study looking at flight records over 22 years found that <a href="https://affiliate.insider.com?h=8e26d9ff6e66f84cefbfeefdbced737cfc1cea9d00c54bc32fab88e9e3d96541&amp;postID=63f485eda5f1ba4d124c8483&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nature.com%2Farticles%2Fs41598-023-30424-2">planes were 21% more likely to be delayed</a> by at least 30 minutes when the sun was very active.The rays can change the magnetic fields in the ionosphere, which can affect GPS signals that have to pierce through that layer to reach Earth.Radio signals sent from Earth also need to bounce off the ionosphere to get from one point to the other — that's less efficient in rough space weather.Granted, radio signals are much less important to basic communications today. But several industries use radio signals to back up their other communications systems in case of failure.<h2>There may be power outages</h2>As the geomagnetic storm messes with the ionosphere's magnetic charge, it creates currents in the ionosphere. Those currents in our upper atmosphere interact with the particles in the ground. The interaction between these particles creates strong electrical currents that can flood infrastructure on Earth.This can trigger some bizarre phenomena. In one example, in 1972, US military pilots flying south of Haiphong harbor in North Vietnam <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/today/2018/11/12/1972-solar-storm-triggered-vietnam-war-mystery">saw two dozen sea mines explode in the water</a> without any apparent cause. A 2018 study looking at space weather at the time concluded that the cause was a huge solar storm.If the currents flood the electrical grid, they can blow up transformers.One damaged transformer won't cause much of an issue. But a huge geomagnetic storm heading toward Earth — a storm so big it would "probably give us aurora down to the equators" — could cause several transformers to go at once, or overwhelm other transformers that could then blow up, knocking out the whole grid, Owens said.In that case, Owens said, restarting the grid "could be a matter of weeks or even months.""Then you lose refrigeration, you lose power to hospitals — things get quite serious quite rapidly," Owens added.So far, we've been lucky. The <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/massive-1859-solar-storm-telegraph-scientists-2016-9">worst solar storm we've seen happened in 1859</a>. But we didn't rely as much on electricity back then as we do now; the only thing it knocked out were telegraph lines.Still, a space-weather event in 1989 shows just how vulnerable we've become: A <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/nmp/st5/SCIENCE/effects2.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">huge geomagnetic storm</a> on March 13 cut power for 6 million people <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/sun_darkness.html">in Quebec</a> for nine hours.<h2>Auroras may become bigger and brighter</h2><div type="image" title="green and red aurora lights stream across earth horizon against black space" height="1500" width="1999" msid="98307424" hostid="261"></div>As these geomagnetic storms crash into the ionosphere, they can make auroras shine big and bright."The aurora oval that sits up over the northern and southern poles is a result of currents flowing in the Earth's atmosphere," Owens said. "And they're nearly always there, but they become very much stronger when we've got a geomagnetic storm going on."We're starting to see some of the effects of these solar flares. The BBC reported that <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-64782372">auroras were seen in the southern UK on Sunday night</a> and that more were expected in the coming days.The sun itself might be erupting in more beautiful formations. NASA <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sun-polar-vortex-video-from-solar-plasma-break-2023-2?r=US&amp;IR=T">spotted a rare polar vortex</a> this month.<div type="image" title="video shows sun rotating ball of red plasma with a filament emerging from the top then breaking away and swirling around the north pole" height="400" width="800" msid="98307425" hostid="261"></div><h2>Astronauts will become more vulnerable to lethal space radiation</h2><div type="image" title="An artist's rendering shows a Starship landing on the moon in the future. SpaceX has been contracted to send Starship to the moon." height="1255" width="1674" msid="98307428" hostid="261"></div>The sun also lets off radiation in the form of solar energetic particles that can be dangerous to astronauts.Humans on Earth are shielded from that radiation, as most of it bounces off the ionosphere and the rest is absorbed by the atmosphere. Even the International Space Station is still under the protection of the ionosphere.But if the radiation hits an astronaut in outer space, it can be very dangerous, Owens said."If you are trying to send a crew to the moon or Mars, you really need to worry about these things, because that is a serious, potentially fatal radiation dose," Owens said.So far, astronauts have been lucky. <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/stereo/news/stereo_astronauts.html#:~:text=The%20solar%20storm%20of%20August,a%20moon%20landing%20in%20December." target="_blank" rel="noopener">Two Apollo crewed missions narrowly escaped a huge solar storm</a> in August 1972: Apollo 16 had landed back on Earth in April, while Apollo 17 launched in December."They missed it purely by chance, and it could have been fatal for the astronauts at the time," Owens said.But as <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-spacex-is-planning-starship-launch-moon-artemis-2023-2">SpaceX and NASA aim to ramp up missions</a> in the coming years, they'll need to prepare for solar storms — the issue is that there's no good way to shield astronauts in space, Owens said.<h2>We're likely not prepared for rough space weather</h2>Owens said that if the 1859 solar storm were to happen today, we'd be "far more susceptible."With each decade, we become more dependent on electrical infrastructure, he said. And the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/2013-solar-max-is-weakest-in-100-years-2013-7?r=US&amp;IR=T">latest solar cycle</a>, which peaked around 2010, was particularly quiet and may have lulled us into a false sense of security."It was the smallest we'd had for about a hundred years," Owens said, adding, "The danger of going from a small cycle to a slightly bigger one is that you then realize where all the vulnerabilities are."Still, we're not in immediate danger. Physicists predict that this cycle will not be the biggest we've ever seen, and we're getting better at spotting storms <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/solar-flare-coronal-eruption-geomagnetic-storm-effects-safety?r=US&amp;IR=T">to be able to prepare for them</a>.Scientists are also learning more and more about our sun. NASA's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-parker-probe-detected-strange-radio-signal-venus-atmosphere-2021-5?r=US&amp;IR=T">Parker Solar Probe</a>, for instance, is heading for the sun and is likely to provide unprecedented images and exciting new data in December.Correction March 24, 2023 — An earlier version of this story mischaracterized the particles coming from the sun. They were wrongly described as radioactive, when in fact the particles themselves are the radiation given off by the sun.

The sun is getting more active than it has for a decade &mdash; and it could lead to power outages, grounded flights, and stunning auroras

<ul><li>Mumbai University rescheduled all undergraduate and postgraduate examinations to Sunday following<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/massive-power-cut-reported-across-mumbai-discom-points-finger-at-tatas/articleshow/78613787.cms"> a major power cut</a> that crippled Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. </li><li>Due to the pandemic, the university was conducting the exams online, and with no electricity in nearly all the regions of the city, the university had to postpone the exams.</li><li>The university also informed students that the timings of the exams would be the same on October 18. </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/">Check out the latest news and updates on Business Insider. </a></li></ul>The University of Mumbai has rescheduled all undergraduate and postgraduate examinations to Sunday following<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/massive-power-cut-reported-across-mumbai-discom-points-finger-at-tatas/articleshow/78613787.cms"> a major power cut</a> that crippled Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) of Thane, Raigad and Palghar. “All students are hereby informed that due to massive power breakdown all over Maharashtra and as the extent and time of power outage can’t be assessed, All UG and PG examination are being rescheduled to Sunday, 18th October 2020.,” said Hemlata Bagla, Principal KC College, Cluster Head university Examinations 2020. The university also informed students that the timings of the exams would remain the same. The final year exams for the students of the University of Mumbai began on October 1. Due to the pandemic, the exams were being conducted online and with no electricity in nearly all the regions of the city, the university had to postpone the exams. As many as 2.4 lakh students are appearing for the examinations this time. The power cut in MMR impacted almost all day-to-day activities of Mumbaikars — bringing even the city’s lifeline, the Central Railway and Western Railway to a grinding halt. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) issued helpline numbers for worried Mumbaikars. As of latest updates by 1 pm, the power has been restored in many parts of Mumbai including Lower Parel, Worli, Dadar, Kalina and Charni Road— after a blackout of over 2 hours. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/zomato-ceo-says-food-delivery-in-india-has-reached-pre-covid-levels/articleshow/78615955.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Ahead of its imminent IPO – Zomato CEO says food delivery in India has reached pre-COVID levels</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/massive-power-cut-reported-across-mumbai-discom-points-finger-at-tatas/articleshow/78613787.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Massive power cut across Mumbai due to grid failure —electricity restored in certain areas</a>

Mumbai University reschedules final exams after city suffers power outage — Here are the details

Mumbai, The arrest of ICICI Bank's former Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar by the Central Bureau of Investigation (<keyword id="19896633" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="cbi" source="keywords">CBI</keyword>) in a loan fraud case was "without application of mind and due regard to the law", amounting to an "abuse of power", the Bombay High Court has said. A division bench of Justices Anuja Prabhudessai and N R Borkar had on February 6 held the <keyword id="20482859" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="kochhars" source="keywords">Kochhars</keyword>' arrest as illegal and confirmed a January 2023 interim order passed by another bench granting them bail. In the order made available on Monday, the court said the CBI has been unable to demonstrate the existence of circumstances or supportive material based on which the decision to arrest was taken. The absence of such circumstances renders the arrest illegal, it said. "Such routine arrest without application of mind and due regard to the law amounts to an abuse of power," the court said. The court also refused to accept the probe agency's contention that the arrest was made as the Kochhars were not cooperating with the probe and said the accused had a right to remain silent during interrogation. "The right to silence emanates from Article 20(3) of the Indian Constitution, which gives an accused the right against self-incrimination. Suffice it to say that exercise of the right to remain silent cannot be equated with non-cooperation," it said in the order. The CBI arrested the couple on December 23, 2022, in the Videocon-ICICI Bank loan case. They immediately moved the high court challenging the arrest and sought for the same to be declared illegal, and by way of interim order, sought to be released on bail. On January 9, 2023, the court, in an interim order, granted the Kochhars bail, noting that the CBI had made the arrest casually and mechanically and without application of mind. In the February 6 order, the bench noted that section 41A of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) was introduced to avoid routine arrests. It cited that this provision restricts the power to arrest when an accused person complies with the notice issued by the police to appear for questioning and mandates that an arrest shall be made only when the police are of the opinion that it is necessary. The court held that while it was within the domain of the investigating agency to interrogate an accused and to arrive at a subjective satisfaction on the issue, the same was not "wholly immune from judicial reviewability". "The court can consider whether the reasons for deprivation of liberty are rational, reasonable or fanciful," it said. The bench further said that the first information report (FIR) against the Kochhars was registered in 2019, and they were summoned for questioning only in 2022. "Despite the gravity of the offence, the petitioners (Kochhars) were not interrogated or summoned for a period of over three years from the date of registration of the crime," it said. From June 2022, the Kochhars have been appearing before the CBI as and when notices under section 41A were issued to them, the bench said. The CBI had claimed that the Kochhars were arrested as they were not cooperating with the probe and that their custodial interrogation was required to unearth the entire gamut of conspiracy. Apart from the Kochhars, the CBI had also arrested <keyword id="20060394" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="videocon" source="keywords">Videocon</keyword> group founder <keyword id="20641998" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="venugopal-dhoot" source="keywords">Venugopal Dhoot</keyword> in the case. The high court granted him bail in January 2023 in its interim order. The probe agency has alleged that private sector lender ICICI Bank had sanctioned credit facilities to the tune of Rs 3,250 crore to the companies of Videocon Group promoted by Dhoot in violation of the Banking Regulation Act, <keyword id="19899810" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="reserve-bank-of-india" source="keywords">Reserve Bank of India</keyword>'s guidelines, and credit policy of the bank. The CBI had named the Kochhars, Dhoot along with Nupower Renewables (NRL) managed by Deepak Kochhar, Supreme Energy, Videocon International Electronics Ltd and Videocon Industries Ltd as accused in the FIR registered in 2019 under the Indian Penal Code sections related to criminal conspiracy and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The agency has alleged that the ICICI Bank sanctioned credit facilities to the tune of Rs 3,250 crore to these companies in violation of norms. It further claimed that as a part of quid pro quo, Dhoot made an investment of Rs 64 crore in Nupower Renewables through Supreme Energy Pvt Ltd (SEPL) and transferred SEPL to Pinnacle Energy Trust managed by Deepak Kochhar through a circuitous route between 2010 and 2012.

Chanda Kochhar, her husband's arrest in loan fraud case amounts to abuse of power by CBI: HC

<ul><li>The massive power cut in India’s financial capital Mumbai on October 12 may have been the work of hackers. </li><li>The Maharashtra Police’s cyber cell probe has reportedly found evidence of suspicious logins and is working to determine if this was a coordinated attempt to take down Mumbai’s power grid.</li><li>According to an earlier statement by the state’s Energy Minister Nitin Raut, the possibility of sabotage cannot be ruled out.</li></ul>The power was out in Mumbai for nearly a day on October 12, putting the stock exchanges, medical facilities, and other critical infrastructure at risk. Now, the state police’s cyber cell probe has reportedly revealed that this may have been the work of state-sponsored hackers. Sources told the <a href="https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/mumbai/cover-story/oct-12-blackout-was-a-sabotage/articleshow/79312959.cms">Mumbai Mirror</a> that multiple ‘suspicious’ logins on the supply and transmission utility servers were detected during the month-long probe. Most of these accounts were from other Asian countries, including Singapore. The investigation is currently ongoing to determine whether it was a coordinated attempt to bring down India’s financial capital. State-sponsored hackers targeting India According to a report by <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/top-cyber-espionage-groups-that-have-india-in-their-crosshairs/slidelist/79120867.cms">CYFIRMA</a>, at least four different state-sponsored hacking groups have India in their crosshairs. This includes Mission 2025, Apt36, Stone Panda, and the infamous Lazarus Group. However, until more information comes to light, there’s no way to tell whether it was one of these four groups or a new player altogether that attacked India’s power grids. According to Mumbai Mirror, the attempts to break through have been ongoing since February — shortly after the COVID-19 outbreak started to spread. At the time of the Mumbai power outage, Maharashtra’s Energy Minister Nitin Raut told the media that the possibility of sabotage could not be ruled out. “There was a technical problem and the Kharghar unit stopped. There was an islanding failure in Mumbai, which shouldn't have happened. This is the reason that the possibility of sabotage is suspected,” he said. Not the first time a power facility has been breached in the last 6 months Earlier this year in June, there was another breach at the Jammu and Kashmir Power Department's data centres. Not only was the department rendered inoperable for three days, its website and mobile app were also taken down. Neel Kamal Singh from the IT wing of the J&amp;K Power Department <a href="https://twitter.com/jkmediasocial/status/1276213262229450752">told the press</a> that it was a ransomware attack, where all official files and data have been encrypted by the hackers. Before the attack was finally shut down, the hackers were able to compromise at least four servers. India is not alone Methods of warfare are no longer restricted to horses or firepower. Most attacks now happen in the digital space, and India is not alone in its struggles. Canada, for instance, has named China and Russia as primary threats to its cybersecurity. The country’s Communications Security Establishment (CSE) fears that these foreign actors are likely to target Canada’s power supply. The US has also identified China as a threat to its national security, with the possibility of an attack on some of its critical infrastructure. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/vodafone-idea-shares-jump-after-selling-stake-in-indus-towers-for-3760-crore/articleshow/79316662.cms">Vodafone Idea soars nearly 5% on fund infusion from Indus Towers stake sale</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/pubg-mobile-india-was-supposed-to-launch-today/articleshow/79315462.cms">PUBG Mobile India was rumoured to launch today — but there is no official update from the company</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/banks/news/lakshmi-vilas-bank-is-the-fifth-financial-firm-after-ilfs-dhfl-yes-bank-and-pmc-bank-to-collapse-in-india/slidelist/79286096.cms">Lakshmi Vilas Bank is the fifth financial firm to collapse in India within the last 30 months</a>

Mumbai’s massive power cut last month may have been the work of hackers

New Delhi, Dec 11 () Shares of CG Power and Industrial Solutions Ltd on Wednesday declined approximately 5 per cent as the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) started probe into the alleged irregularities at the firm and its 15 group companies.
The scrip on the BSE was trading at Rs 11.11, a loss of 4.96 per cent over its previous close.
On the NSE, the shares fell 4.7 per cent to Rs 11.15.
"The company has received a letter...from the office of the Joint Director (Investigation), SFIO, Ministry of Corporate Affairs...informing that the Central Government...has ordered an investigation by the SFIO into the affairs of the company and its 15 related/group companies (not having been specifically identified in the said letter)...The said SFIO Investigation has been initiated," The firm in a regulatory filing said.
Earlier, sources had said that the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has filed a petition before the Mumbai-bench of the National Company Law Tribunal seeking permission to re-open the books of account and recast the financial statements of CG Power and its subsidiary companies for the past five financial years beginning 2014-15.
The MCA had previously asked its SFIO to probe the affairs of the company along with 15 other firms, including two subsidiaries CG Power Solutions Ltd and CG International BV. SRS
BAL

CG Power shares slip 5 pc as SFIO begins probe

New Delhi, Dec 11 () The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) has started probe into the alleged irregularities at CG Power and Industrial Solutions Ltd and its 15 group companies.
 "The company has received a letter...from the office of the Joint Director (Investigation), SFIO, Ministry of Corporate Affairs...informing that the Central Government...has ordered an investigation by the SFIO into the affairs of the company and its 15 related/group companies (not having been specifically identified in the said letter)...The said SFIO Investigation has been initiated," CG Power and Industrial Solutions Ltd said in a regulatory filing.
 The company was committed to cooperate with SFIO to enable them to complete its investigation in a time bound manner, the filing added.
 Sources had earlier said that the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has filed a petition before the Mumbai-bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) seeking permission to re-open the books of account and recast the financial statements of CG Power and its subsidiary companies for the past five financial years beginning 2014-15.
 MCA had previously asked its SFIO to probe the affairs of the company along with 15 other firms, including two subsidiaries CG Power Solutions Ltd and CG International BV.
 The company had in August said that an investigation instituted by its board had found major governance and financial lapses, including some assets being provided as collateral and the money from the loans siphoned off by "identified company personnel, both current and past, including certain non-executive directors".
 Gautam Thapar, who was non-executive chairman of the company, was removed by its board on August 29. SID DRR

SFIO begins probe against CG Power and Industrial Solutions, 15 group firms

<ul><li><keyword id="6357149" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="hdfc-bank">HDFC Bank</keyword>’s customers were reporting unable to conduct transactions using net banking and UPI payments platform.</li><li>The bank has stated that the problem is due to an outage at one of its data centres.</li><li>The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked HDFC Bank to furnish more details about the cause of the outage.</li></ul>Customers of HDFC Bank were reporting problems with their net banking and digital payments. Many were unable to send transactions, others have gone so far as to say that they were unable to withdraw money from ATMs. <div type="image" title="Grids" msid="79344457" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;HDFC Bank&amp;#39;s services down on BHIM, Google Pay and the bank&amp;#39;s own mobile app&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> According to India’s largest private sector lender, there was been an outage at one of its data centres which has left certain services to be unable. HDFC Bank, however, did not divulge the cause of the data center’s downfall — whether it is due to internal or external causes, whether it is a glitch or sabotage. The Reserve Bank of India (<a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/banking/finance/banking/hdfc-bank-outage-rbi-seeks-details/articleshow/79359696.cms">RBI</a>) has asked the bank to furnish more details. <div type="twitter" handle="HDFCBank_Cares" handlename="HDFC Bank Cares" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/880333363982159872/lA3myMTv_normal.jpg" favoritecount="0" retweetcount="0" status="@aayushi06 Hi, an unexpected outage at one of our data centres has impacted some of our services. We are working to… https://t.co/HiivPDftD9" createdat="1605979497000" id="1330200538680619008"></div> Complaints first started coming in at around 6:00pm in the evening on Saturday, November 21 and reached their peak at 8:00pm. <div type="image" title="hdfc bank downdetector" msid="79344482" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Spike in problems with HDFC Bank over the last 24 hours&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> <div type="twitter" handle="suraj64" handlename="suraj jethwa" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/918921437183741952/-AVCbeQ7_normal.jpg" favoritecount="0" retweetcount="0" status="From last couple of hours I am not able to withdraw money from any of the ATM, even not able to transfer amount to… https://t.co/ATMTo06V3P" createdat="1605978558000" id="1330196602129174528"></div> <div type="twitter" handle="dirarivazhagan" handlename="Arivazhagan" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1247530095088001035/Ldk-1LdV_normal.jpg" favoritecount="59" retweetcount="1" status="#HDFC Bank down for the past one hour. No services for net banking and atm @HDFC_Bank" createdat="1605972265000" id="1330170206736486409"></div> Services resumed by Sunday morning, November 22. HDFC Bank too issued a statement saying, "The services impacted following the outage have been restored. While you may face intermittent issues as the system stabilizes there is no reason to worry now! Our sincere apologies for the inconvenience caused. Thank you for bearing with us during this period." SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/environment/news/mount-everest-home-to-microplastics-and-melting-glaciers/articleshow/79324609.cms">Microplastics found at the highest point on Earth as the glaciers around Mount Everest’s death zone melt</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/mumbais-massive-power-cut-last-month-may-have-been-the-work-of-hackers/articleshow/79318282.cms">Mumbai’s massive power cut last month may have been the work of hackers</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/banks/news/rbi-panel-proposes-raising-promoter-stake-cap-allowing-nbfcs-to-become-banks-and-large-corporation-can-own-banks/articleshow/79323107.cms">RBI panel proposes recommendations that could redefine private bank ownership</a>

HDFC Bank’s net banking, UPI service and ATMs were down due to a 'data centre outage' but RBI demands more detailed information

<ul><li>India’s senior most armed forces official, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) <keyword id="2496903" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bipin-Rawat">Bipin Rawat</keyword> believes that China is capable of launching cyber attacks that ‘large amount’ of India’s systems.</li><li>He also revealed that India’s best defence right now is to keep outage time limited when a breach does occur.</li><li>This comes at a time when the threats from China are increasing in aftermath of the clash between the two Asian giants on the Line of Actual Control (LAC).</li></ul>Wars in today’s day and age aren’t found on the battlefield but in cyberspace. Malware is ammunition, hackers and cybersecurity experts are the soldiers, and what they’re fighting over is data. While things may have cooled down between India and China on the ground, the cyber threat posed by the Dragon is still very much in play. “China is capable of launching cyber attacks on us that can disrupt a large amount of our systems,” General Bipin Rawat, India’s highest ranking armed forces official, told reporters on April 7. Harvard University’s National Cyber Power Index currently ranks China second in cyber power. Meanwhile, India is among one of the <a href="https://idsa.in/system/files/jds/13-3-2019-evolution-of-india-national-security.pdf">most cyber targeted countries</a> in the world. And for China, India is the number one target. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="77497819" title="After Jio, India's unicorn startups are the top target for Chinese hackers trying to get their hands on Indian users' data" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Chinese hackers have India’s power sector in its sights" comment="subhead" text="Chinese hackers have India’s power sector in its sights"><keyword id="149865" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Chinese-hackers">Chinese hackers</keyword> have India’s power sector in its sights</cmsannotation> Not only does India not have any offensive capabilities on hand, its defences are not foolproof. “While we’re trying to create firewalls against cyber attacks, we’re quite sure that they [Chinese hackers] will break through these firewalls,” Rawat said. That doesn’t bode well for India’s power sector, which is currently in the sights of Chinese state-sponsored hackers, according to a US-based cybersecurity firm, Recorded Future. The most recent example of the extent of disruption an attack on the power grid can cause was witnessnessed in October, last year. India’s financial capital was left reeling for hours as a power outage disrupted services in Mumbai. The chaos was allegedly caused by a new coalition of Chinese hackers dubbed ‘Red Echo’ by Recorded Future, a cybersecurity firm based out of the US. The company believes that these Chinese state-sponsored hackers have at least one connection that is still open. The link is most likely in the network system of an Indian maritime port, although Recorded Future did not specify which one. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="75796403" title="Chinese hackers are using backdoors to gain unrestricted access to companies and governments — and it’s not about the money" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="India needs to integrate resources across the armed forces to face cyber threats posed by China" comment="subhead" text="India needs to integrate resources across the armed forces to face cyber threats posed by China">India needs to integrate resources across the armed forces to face cyber threats posed by China</cmsannotation> According to Rawat, a plan is already in the works to address China’s growing prowess in the field of technology. For it to be successful, he opines that resources across all three pillars of the armed forces — the army, navy, and airforce — need to be integrated. “What we are trying to do is create a system in which we ensure cyber defence. And we have been able to create a cyber agency, which is our own agency within the armed forces… Each service also has its own cyber agency to ensure that even if we come under a cyber attack, the down time and the effect of the cyber attack does not last long,” Rawat explained. However, compared to China’s cyber capabilities, India still has a lot of catching up to do. China has been preparing itself for the fifth dimension of war for over two decades, and, according to Rawat, India is still in the midst of figuring out what it needs to do. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="China has a long history of meddling with Indian servers" comment="subhead" text="China has a long history of meddling with Indian servers">China has a long history of meddling with Indian servers</cmsannotation> In 2008, Indian government officials told the <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/China-mounts-cyber-attacks-on-Indian-sites/articleshow/3010288.cms">Times of India</a> that Chinese hackers were trying to break down servers on a daily basis — this included targets like the National Informatics Centre, the National Security Council and the Ministry of External Affairs. Even then, the real gap between the capabilities of the two Asian giants was that India did not have any offensive system in place. More recently, since the Galwan Valley clash — which escalated into a long, drawn out stand-off between the two Asian giants along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) — the number of threats coming in from China has only increased. According to Singapore-based cybersecurity firm, Cyfirma, there was a 200% increase in cyber attacks from China between May to June. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="76534204" title="Spurt in cyber attacks from China, over 40,000 cases in 5 days" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> Even though the countries are currently in the process of disengaging and repairing their bilateral ties on the ground, disputes continue to brew in the airwaves. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/failed-stars-may-have-a-cosmic-speed-limit-to-how-fast-they-can-spin-otherwise-theyll-break-apart/articleshow/81963376.cms">'Failed stars' may have a cosmic speed limit to how fast they can spin — otherwise they'll break apart </a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/share-prices-of-tcs-hcl-tech-mindtree-and-other-it-stocks-are-on-fire-ahead-of-q4-earnings/articleshow/81961821.cms">The tech stocks binge is hotting up again with the second wave of COVID-19</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/osiris-exoplanet-was-formed-at-least-a-100-times-farther-away-from-its-sun-than-where-it-is-now-and-has-six-chemicals-in-its-atmosphere-to-prove-it/articleshow/81953394.cms">The first-ever exoplanet discovered was born at least a 100 times farther away from its Sun than where it is now — and has six chemicals in its atmosphere to prove it</a>

The Chinese cyber threat is real — and India’s best defence right now is to keep its outage time limited

<ul><li>The NCLT on Thursday termed an <keyword id="6367568" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="audit-report">audit report</keyword> by Vaish Associates on the firm as "bogus", saying it will only rely on the report conducted independently or by a government agency.</li><li>The shares of <keyword id="4243479" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="CG-Power">CG Power</keyword> remained depressed on Friday morning after the <keyword id="107956" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Serious-Fraud-Investigation-Office">Serious Fraud Investigation Office</keyword> (SFIO) ordered an investigation. </li><li> The stock has lost nearly 20% in the last 3 months and more than three-fourths of its value in the last one year.</li></ul>In a relief to CG Power's sacked chairman <keyword id="3910012" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Gautam-Thapar">Gautam Thapar</keyword>, the NCLT on Thursday termed an audit report by Vaish Associates on the firm as "bogus", saying it will only rely on the report conducted independently or by a government agency in the matter. CG Power's board sacked Thapar after Vaish Associates' audit report, which itself is based on as many as 23 disclaimers, claimed that Thapar swindled Rs 3,000 crore from CG Power. However, the shares of CG Power remained depressed on Friday morning after the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) ordered an investigation. The stock has lost nearly 20% in the last 3 months and more than three-fourths of its value in the last one year. The Mumbai bench of the <keyword id="6354457" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="National-Company-Law-Tribunal">National Company Law Tribunal</keyword> (NCLT) said it will not rely on this report, unless done independently or after being ordered by the corporate affairs ministry or government agencies like Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO). Only the government's investigation will be taken on record, the bench comprising Bhaskara Pantula Mohan and Rajesh Sharma said.
 The tribunal kept the matter on alleged financial irregularities at CG Power for further hearing on January 23.
 Based on the Vaish's report, the corporate affairs ministry on November 25 sought to reopen the books of the company for the past five years ending March 2019. But, the NCLT had rejected this petition as well on the December 16.
 Markets regulator Sebi banned Thapar and entities associated with him for three years, following which he moved the Securities Appellate Tribunal, which has asked the company to provide relevant documents to him.
 In November, the SFIO began a probe against CG Power and 15 group entities. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/cg-power-imbroglio-gautam-thapar-cites-board-approvals-rejects-fund-misuse-allegations/articleshow/72678838.cms">CG Power imbroglio: Gautam Thapar cites board approvals, rejects fund misuse allegations</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/fraud-hit-cg-power-shareholders-vote-for-raising-rs-5000-cr-debt-appt-of-sudhir-mathur-as-director/articleshow/72830066.cms">Fraud-hit CG Power shareholders vote for raising Rs 5,000 cr debt, appt of Sudhir Mathur as director</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/cg-power-board-okays-appointment-of-pradeep-mathur-as-addl-non-executive-independent-director/articleshow/73041671.cms">CG Power board okays appointment of Pradeep Mathur as addl, non-executive independent director</a>

The audit report alleging ₹3,000 crore scam by Gautam Thapar at CG Power has been junked ⁠— but now the serious fraud office is hot on the trail

Mumbai, Mar 5 () The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Thursday allowed a government petition seeking to reopen CG Power and Industrial Solutions accounts from 2014-15 to 2018-19.The corporate affairs ministry had filed an application in the NCLT seeking the appointment of an independent auditor to reopen the accounts of CG Power &amp; Industrial Solution from 2014-15 to 2018-19.The ministry in its prayer had said the reopening of the books of accounts is needed to bring out the truth in the larger public interest.The Mumbai-bench -- comprising members Bhaskara Pantula Mohan and Rajesh Sharma -- in its order also directed the government not to rely on the report by Vaish Associates, and asked them to conduct a separate investigation.The tribunal also denied CG Power &amp; Industrial Solution founder Gautam Thapar's plea to grant stay on the order.Earlier in January, the NCLT had quashed the audit report submitted by Vaish Associates, terming it bogus.Thapar was sacked based on this report, which was in fact penned by a rival agency KPMG.Dismissing the Vaish report, the bench had said it would rely only on a report either ordered independently or by a government agency in the matter. The Vaish report was ordered by the board of CG Power.Following report, the markets regulator Sebi had banned Thapar and entities associated with him for three years from the market, following which he moved the Securities Appellate Tribunal, which has asked the company to provide relevant documents to him but upheld the ban on him.Late November, the ministry asked the SFIO to launch a probe into the affairs of the company and 15 group entities. SM BALBAL

NCLT allows MCA's plea to reopen CG Power's accounts

Mumbai, Mar 11 () Gautam Thapar, the ousted non-executive chairman of CG Power, on Wednesday welcomed the Sebi order that provides certain relief to him and three other individuals. Thapar also welcomed the regulator's decision to ask the BSE to appoint an auditor to restate fraud-hit CG Power and Industrial Solutions' books from 2014-15, saying that it would bring out the facts. On Wednesday, Sebi allowed Thapar and three others to liquidate up to 25 per cent of the value of the securities held by them in the company. However, the watchdog refused to lift the capital market ban imposed on Thapar and three other former officials in a case related to fund diversion. The three officials are former chief financial officer V R Venkatesh, former directors Madhav Acharya and B Hariharan. "I have been given some relief. That is good. And so is the Sebi underlining the need to probe the role Sheshadri and KKR in the entire issue. "Of course, I was not expecting Sebi to take a dramatic turn from its interim order, which was though based on the biased and unprofessional report by Vaish Associates which itself had 23 disclaimers," Thapar told over phone from New Delhi. It is great that an audit report by Vaish Associates has been trashed by Sebi now as had been done by the NCLT earlier, he noted. "I am not happy with the order as some of the reliefs sought are yet to be given to me. "One should also look at what is happening in the courts, especially in the NCLT," he said. Sebi passed the 174-page confirmatory order on Wednesday. It came after a directive from the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) in February, wherein the watchdog was granted time till March 10 to pass the final order in the CG Power matter. The officials had moved the tribunal following an interim order passed by Sebi in September 2019, which had barred them from the capital markets for "serious" misstatement of accounts as well as diversion of funds. Besides, it had ordered forensic audit of the company. In the interim order, Sebi had said the transactions are prima facie "designed to divert/ siphon off money from CG Power, which rightfully belongs to its shareholders". BEN HRS

CG Power case: Gautam Thapar welcomes relief from Sebi

New Delhi, Nov 23 () The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) wants fraud-hit CG Power and Industrial Solutions to restate accounts of the past five fiscal years reflecting the actual financial position of the company, including receivables from companies linked to erstwhile promoter Gautam Thapar, sources said.
 The new management of the company, soon after the fraud came to light, had on August 30 expressed desire to restate financial accounts for last five years and it will now expedite the process.
 Sources said MCA has filed a petition before the Mumbai-bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) seeking permission to re-open the books of account and recast the financial statements of CG Power and its subsidiary companies for the past five financial years beginning 2014-15.
 It wants chartered accountants to re-open the books of account and recast the financial statements of the company and its subsidiary firms.
 MCA had previously asked its Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) to probe the affairs of the company along with 15 other firms, including two subsidiaries CG Power Solutions Ltd and CG International BV.
 CG Power, which has ousted its chairman over allegations of financial irregularities, had plans to re-examine its accounts over the past fiscal years to ascertain whether similar transactions may have escaped detection after an internal probe into current performance revealed nine such deals.
 A recent investigation by the company revealed that the nine wrongful transactions caused the company to lose around Rs 3,300 crore.
 It has asked companies linked to promoter Gautam Thapar, among others, to return the money and has initiated the second phase of the probe to fix responsibility for the alleged fraudulent transactions.
 CG Power had in August stated that an investigation instituted by its board had found major governance and financial lapses, including some assets being provided as collateral and the money from the loans siphoned off by "identified company personnel, both current and past, including certain non-executive directors." Also, some liabilities and advances to related and unrelated parties had been understated.
 Following this, the firm has issued recovery notices to seven entities demanding repayment of Rs 1,314.78 crore owed by them to the company. Besides, its subsidiaries have sent 23 notices to recover Rs 2,095.64 crore, they said.
 CG Power had previously in regulatory filings stated that a total of Rs 3,018.62 crore was receivable from "various promoter affiliate companies and connected parties".
 This includes Rs 1,001.38 crore from Thapar's Avantha Holdings Ltd. Another Rs 287.75 crore was due from Blue Garden Estate Pvt Ltd and Rs 175 crore from Acton Global Pvt Ltd -- two firms which were classified as "promoter connected party".
 Among parties related to the promoter group, Rs 552.33 crore was due from Ballarpur Graphics Paper Product Ltd, Rs 348.71 crore from Avantha International Assets BV and Rs 378.76 crore from Solaris Industrial Chemicals Ltd.
 Blue Garden Estate Pvt Ltd also had Rs 320 crore of pending loan/advance. The board of CG Power had in August sacked Thapar as chairman and thereafter forced CEO K N Neelkant to resign as well. ANZ SR ABM
ABM

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