Important Committees by Dr.

Gaurav Garg
March to September 2020
IRDAI sets up panel on governance at insurers
● The country’s insurance regulator has set up a 16-member committee to find ways to improve corporate governance
systems of insurers, primarily on making key functions such as risk management and internal audits independent of
each other.
● The committee will be headed by Pravin Kutumbe, member-finance and investment at IRDAI.

Prevention & Control Of COVID-19

● The government constituted a high level technical committee of Public Health Experts for COVID-19 to guide the
prevention and control activities in the country.
● The 21 member committee will be headed by NITI Aayog member Dr V K Paul.

High Level Committee under the Chairmanship of Union Home Minister

● The High Level Committee (HLC) under the Chairmanship of Union Home Minister, Shri Amit Shah, has approved
additional Central assistance under National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) to eight States, which were affected by
floods/ landslides/ cyclone/ drought during 2019.
● These states are Bihar, Kerala, Nagaland, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Karnataka & Odisha.

Rajnath Singh approves abolition of 9,304 posts in Military Engineering Service

● Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has approved a proposal for the abolition of 9,304 posts in the Military Engineering
Service (MES).
● This is in line with the recommendations of the Lt. Gen. D.B. Shekatkar (Retd.) Committee, which had suggested
measures to enhance combat capability and rebalance armed forces’ expenditure.

Anil Kumble-led ICC Committee Recommends Ban on Saliva Due to Coronavirus Pandemic
● The use of saliva to shine the cricket ball, especially in the red-ball format, is primarily meant for swing bowling but
the practice is now being seen as a health risk.

High-level panel formed to recommend reforms in India's drug regulatory system

● The committee chaired by Rajesh Bhushan, the OSD to the Union health minister.

Mohandas Pai to chair IBBI advisory committee on service providers

● The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has reconstituted its advisory committee on service providers
and it would now be chaired by Manipal Global Education Services Chairman T V Mohandas Pai.

PM Modi appoints committee for MSME loan scheme implementation

● Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appointed a committee headed by Rajnath Singh to resolve any problem in the
implementation of the Rs 3 lakh crore collateral-free loan scheme for MSMEs.

MoS Home G Kishan Reddy, 9 others named on new panel for freedom fighters
● The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has reconstituted a committee to look into the welfare of freedom fighters, with
the minister of state for home affairs G Kishan Reddy as the chairman and nine “eminent freedom fighters” from
across the country as its members.

IBBI Board reconstitutes Advisory Committee on Corporate Insolvency Resolution & Liquidation
● The Advisory Committee will be chaired by the Executive Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Kotak Mahindra
Bank, Uday Kotak.

Irdai committee to examine Surety Bonds for road contracts

● Irdai has formed a panel under G Srinivasan, director, National Insurance Academy, to assess the suitability of the
Indian insurance industry or any other sector to offer Surety Bonds for road contracts in the country.

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NHRC forms expert panel to study COVID impact on human rights
● The National Human Rights Commission has constituted an 11-member expert committee to study impact of Covid-19
on human rights and future response of the government.
● The expert panel would be headed by Dr K S Reddy, president of Public Health Foundation of India.

IRDAI to set up “pandemic risk pool”

● The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) is considering a proposal to set up a
“pandemic risk pool” in order to address various risks which have been triggered by the Covid-19
● The regulator has set up a nine-member committee headed by IRDAI Executive Director Suresh Mathur to recommend
the structure and operating model for the pool and submit its report.

SEBI Revamps advisory committee on mutual funds

● The revamped advisory committee on mutual funds has 20-member and will be headed Usha Thorat, former deputy
governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

HRD Ministry forms committee on retaining students in India.

● The Union Ministry of Human Resource Development has set up a “Stay in India and Study in India” committee to
form guidelines and recommend measures to make sure that more students study in India and there is a smooth
transition for students returning from abroad due to COVID-19 situation.
● The committee will be headed by chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC), Prof. D. P. Singh.

Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports has constituted a Selection Committee

● Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports has constituted a Selection Committee for selecting awardees for the Rajiv Gandhi
Khel Ratna, Dronacharya Awards, Arjuna Awards, Dhyan Chand Awards, Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar Award
and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy for the year 2020.
● Retired Justice of Supreme Court Justice Mukundakam Sharma is the Chairperson of the Committee.

KV Kamath committee to help with Covid-19 related stressed assets

● The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has set up an expert committee under veteran banker KV Kamath to suggest
financial parameters for resolution of Covid-19 related stressed assets.

Panel set up to fix ceiling rates under duty reimbursement scheme for exporters
● The government has constituted a three-member committee for determination of ceiling rates under a scheme for
reimbursement of taxes and duties to exporters.
● According to an order of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), the committee would be chaired by
Secretary (retd) G K Pillai.

■ The Central Government formed a search-cum-selection committee to name the new three government nominees on
the all-important Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). The committee was headed by Cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba.

■ DRDO has set up an expert panel to review the charter of its laboratories and minimise the overlap of technologies
they are working on 5-member committee under the chairmanship of Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi director V
Ramagopal Rao

Centre sets up expert committee to assess implications of interest waiver

● The Government of India has set up an expert committee to assess the relief to bank borrowers over the ongoing
hearing in the Supreme Court.
● The Chairperson of the committee is Rajiv Mehrishi, former CAG of India.

Govt sets up group under cyber security head to probe China Watching
● The Government has set up an expert committee under the National Cyber Security Coordinator to study the
revelations in China Watching, an investigation by The Indian Express, that a Shenzhen-based company, with links to
the Chinese government, is monitoring over 10,000 Indian individuals and entities.
● The expert committee, led by Lt Gen (retd) Rajesh Pant.

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Centre sets up high-level committee to prepare roadmap for regularisation of land leasing in agri sector
● The committee, to be headed by the secretary of the department of land resources (The current secretary is Ajay
Tirkey).

Tenure of the Company Law Committee extended

● The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has extended the tenure of the Company Law Committee by one year to September
2021.
● The committee, constituted in September 2019, is now chaired by Corporate Affairs Secretary Rajesh Verma
● It was set up to suggest measures to de-clog and improve functioning of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT)

SEBI has set-up a technical committee on the social stock exchange

● SEBI has set-up a technical committee on the social stock exchange, which will develop a framework for onboarding
profit and non-profit organisations on such bourses and prescribe disclosure requirements relating to financials and
governance.
● The technical group would be chaired by Harsh Kumar Bhanwala, former chairman of NABARD.

Neetu David appointed head of India women’s selection committee

● Neetu David, one of India’s finest woman cricketers in the late ‘90s and early 2000s, has been appointed chairman of
the women’s selection committee replacing Hemalata Kala.

■ The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has appointed a three-member committee of directors (CoD) to run the cash-strapped
private sector lender Lakshmi Vilas Bank after the bank's shareholders voted out seven directors. The committee will
be chaired by Meeta Makhan

IMF MD ropes in Raghuram Rajan, 11 others to key external advisory group

● IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on April 10 named former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan and 11 others
to her external advisory group.

RBI constitutes Internal Working Group to review structure of pvt sector banks
● The Reserve Bank of India constituted a 5-member Internal Working Group to review the guidelines related to
ownership, governance and corporate structure of private sector banks.
● RBI informed that RBI Central Board Director P K Mohanty headed the committee

IRDAI Forms 9-Member Working Group Headed by Anjan Dey to Look Into Drone Insurance
● India’s insurance regulator, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has formulated a
9-member working group(WG) headed by Anjan Dey, general manager of the New India Assurance, to suggest
insurance products covering various risks involved in the use of Remotely Piloted Aircraft System(RAPS)/ Drones.

The Reserve Bank of India 'Report of the Committee for Analysis of QR (Quick Response) Code'.
● The Committee was constituted by RBI on December 23, 2019 under the Chairmanship of Prof. D.B. Phatak
(Professor Emeritus, IIT-Bombay) to review the prevalent system of QR Codes in India for facilitating digital
payments and submit recommendations.

■ The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) set up a panel of industry experts to formulate a plan
to develop international retail business at the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC). The committee will be
chaired by Pradip Shah, chairman at Indasia Fund Advisors.

The government has set up a 12-member high-level panel to prepare an investigation manual for probe agency SFIO.
● The panel would be chaired by Corporate Affairs Secretary Injeti Srinivas, as per an order issued by the corporate
affairs ministry.
● The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) probes white-collar crimes.

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Finance Commission sets up panel to review fiscal consolidation road map
● The Finance Commission has constituted an 8-member panel to review the fiscal consolidation road map of the both
state and central governments.
● The panel will be headed by 15th Finance Commission Chairman N K Singh

Kozhikode plane crash

● The Aircraft Accident Investigation Board (AAIB) has formed a five-member panel to inquire into the circumstances
of a plane crash in Kerala's Kozhikode airport in which 18 people were killed.
● Captain S S Chahar, a former DGCA-designated examiner for pilots of B737NG aircraft, will be the
investigator-in-charge to inquire into the circumstances of the August 7 accident.

India aims to achieve 100 MT coal gasification target by 2030

● A Steering Committee has been constituted in this regard under the chairmanship of Dr. V.K. Saraswat, Member, NITI
Aayog.

■ Insurance regulator IRDAI has constituted a six-member working group to examine various aspects for allowing life
insurance companies to offer index-linked products. The working group will be headed by Dinesh Pant

NITI Aayog has constituted a Multidimensional Poverty Index Coordination Committee (MPICC).
● The MPICC is chaired by Ms. Sanyukta Samaddar, Adviser (SDG)
● Global MPI is an international measure of multidimensional poverty covering 107 developing countries and was first
developed in 2010 by Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) and United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) for UNDP’s Human Development Reports.

Govt Sets up Empowered Group of Ministers Headed by Rajnath Singh to Oversee OFB's Corporatisation
● The government has constituted an Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) under the chairmanship of Defence
Minister Rajnath Singh to oversee the process of corporatisation of the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB).

Panel formed to reconsider minimum age of marriage for girls

● Govt sets up taskforce to examine maternal mortality rate, age of motherhood
● Chaired by - politician Jaya Jaitley

IRDAI panel for enhancing trade credit policy cover limit

● The nine-member working group was headed by New India Assurance Company CMD Atul Sahai.

Government reconstitutes National Shipping Board

● The government has approved reconstitution of the National Shipping Board to be headed by former Director General
of Shipping Malini Shankar

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