Dear Shareholders,
Your Company?s Directors are pleased to present 24th
Annual Report of the Company, together with the Auditors? Report and Comments of the
Comptroller and Auditor General of India ("C&AG"), for the Financial Year
ended 31st March, 2024 prepared in accordance with the provisions of the
Companies Act, 2013 read with rules made thereunder and SEBI (Listing Obligations and
Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015- ["Listing Regulations"] as
amended from time to time.
1. Company Overview
RailTel Corporation of India Limited (RCIL), a "Mini Ratna
(Category-I)" Central Public Sector Enterprise is an ICT provider and one of the
largest neutral telecom infrastructure providers in the country owning a Pan-India optic
fiber network. The OFC network covers important towns & cities of the country and
several rural areas.
RCIL was incorporated on September 26, 2000 with the aim of modernizing
the existing telecom system for train control, operation, and safety and to generate
additional revenues by creating nationwide broadband and multimedia network, laying
optical fiber cable using the right of way along railway tracks. Presently, the optic
fiber network of RailTel covers over 62000+ route kilometers and covers 6108+ railway
stations across India. Our citywide access across the country is 21000+ kms.
RCIL?s various operations are certified for Tier-III (Design &
Facility), ISO 27001:2013 Certified for Information Security Management System, ISO
20000:2018 Certified for Service Management System, ISO 9001:2015 Certified for Quality
Management System, ISO 27017:2015 Certified for Cloud Security, ISO 27018:2019 Certified
for Data Privacy in Cloud Service, ISO 27033 Certified for Network Security, CMMI Maturity
Level-4 Certified for Process Improvement.
RCIL has a strategic relationship with the Indian
Railways and it undertakes a wide variety of projects including
provision of mission critical connectivity services like IP based video surveillance
system at stations, NIC's e-Office? services and implementing short haul
connectivity between stations and long haul connectivity to support various organizations
within the Indian Railways. RailTel also provide various passenger services including
content on demand services and Wi-Fi across major railway stations in India.
RCIL believes that their experience and expertise in handling and
undertaking telecom and ICT projects, has led them to be selected for implementation of
various mission-mode projects for the Government of India including rolling out the
National Knowledge Network, Bharat Net (formerly, the National Optical
Fiber Network) and USOF funded optical fiber based connectivity project
in North East India.
RCIL being a "Mini Ratna (Category-I)" PSU is steaming ahead
in the enterprise segment with the launch of various services coupled with capacity
augmentation in its Core network. Your company stands as the only telecom PSU, which is a 100%
debt free company and consistently profit-making and dividend paying PSU in telecom
sector.
2. Financial Highlights
During the year, your Company has achieved total turnover of Rs2622
Crore. The Company has observed an increase of 31% in its revenue from operations which
comes out to be Rs2568 Crore. The total turnover of the Company during the year is Rs2622
Crore including other income of Rs56 Crore.
The summarized financial results of your Company are shown in Table
1.
Table1: Financial Highlights of Company
(In Crore)
Particulars |
Year ended 31/03/2024 |
Year ended 31/03/2023 |
Total Revenue |
|
|
-Revenue from Operations |
2567.82 |
1957.34 |
-Other Income |
56.30 |
35.62 |
-Finance Income |
(1.95) |
1.68 |
Expenditure excluding depreciation |
2109.66 |
1584.39 |
Depreciation |
157.70 |
154.29 |
Profit Before Interest, Tax &
Exceptional items |
354.81 |
255.96 |
Interest |
0 |
0 |
Exceptional Items |
26.72 |
2.06 |
Tax/ Others |
81.88 |
65.65 |
Profit for the Year |
246.21 |
188.25 |
Basic EPS (In ) |
7.67 |
5.87 |
3. Listing of Shares
The equity shares of the Company got listed on 26/02/2021 on National
Stock Exchange of India
Limited ("NSE") and BSE Limited ("BSE"). The Scrip
Code for equity shares of RCIL assigned by BSE is 543265 and Scrip Symbol assigned
by NSE is RAILTEL.
4. Share Capital
Subsequent to merger of subsidiary company i.e RailTel Enterprises Ltd
with RCIL, the authorized capital of the company stands increased to Rs1050 Crore.
There is no change in issued, subscribed and paid-up Share Capital of
the Company which stood Rs320.94 crore divided into Rs32.09 crore Equity Shares of Rs
10 each as on 31st March, 2024 including Rs 305.94 crore issued for
consideration other than cash. The details of dematerialization of shares, Demat Suspense
Account/Unclaimed Suspense Account is provided in the Corporate Governance Report as
annexed to this report.
5. Dividend
Your Company has a consistent track-record of dividend payment. The
Board of Directors of your Company had earlier approved payment of an Interim Dividend of
Rs1.00 per share amounting to Rs32.09 Crore for the FY 2023-24. Further, the Board has
recommended payment of final dividend of Rs1.85 per share amounting to Rs 59.37 Crore for
the FY 2023-24. The total dividend payment for the FY 2023-24 would be Rs 91.47 Crore as
compared to Rs 81.83 crore paid for the FY 2022-23.
In terms of Regulation 43A of Listing Regulations and the guidelines on
"Capital Restructuring of Central Public Enterprises" issued by the DIPAM, the
Board of Directors of the Company has formulated and adopted the Dividend Distribution
Policy. The said Policy is annexed to this report and is also available on the
Company?s website i.e. www.railtel.in.
6. Railways Revenue Share
The Company is also contributing by way of revenue share @7 % on
services to Indian Railways and the total share of such contribution comes to Rs43.17
Crore as against such share of Rs41.93 Crore in the preceding year. The cumulative revenue
share to Railways amounting to Rs433 Crore till this year. Besides, the Company has also
paid license fee @ 8% (at present) to DoT, Govt. of India on its income from telecom
business carried by it under licenses granted to it. The cumulative license fee paid to
DoT amounting to Rs 654 Crore till this year.
7. Reserves
The Company appropriated its profit earned during the year under
review. The Company has not transferred any amount to the General Reserves during the
year. The total reserves & surplus at the end of the FY 2023-24 is Rs 1506 Crore.
8. Capital Expenditure
During the year, Capital expenditure of Rs199 Crore approx. was
incurred mainly on OFC related assets, Data Centre, Telecom & Radio equipment?s
etc. The Company made commitments to the tune of Rs296 Crore on capital account and
accordingly, expenditure would be booked during the upcoming financial year.
9. Declaration from Independent Directors
RCIL has received a declaration from its Independent
Directors stating that they have met the criteria of independence under
Section 149(6) of the Companies Act, 2013 and Regulation 16(1)(b) read along with
Regulation 25(8) of Listing Regulations and are not disqualified from continuing as
Independent Directors. There is no extension of any Independent
Director for a term exceeding Five (5) years as per Section 149(10) of the Companies Act,
2013.
10. Number of Meetings of Board
The Board met Seven (7) times for transacting the business of the
Company during the FY 2023-24 i.e., on 17/05/2023, 09/07/2023, 27/07/2023, 26/10/2023,
03/01/2024, 24/01/2024 and
19/03/2024. The particulars of the meetings held and attended by
Directors are detailed in the Corporate Governance Report as annexed to this report.
11. Details of changes in Directors and other Key Managerial Personnel:
The following changes took place in the Board/Key Managerial Personnel
of the Company during the year and up-to date of Report:
Appointment of directors: -
1. Shri Yashpal Singh Tomar has been appointed as Director/NPM w.e.f.
04/07/2023.
2. Subsequent to appointment of Shri Yashpal Singh Tomar as
Director/NPM, Shri Rakesh Ranjan, who was earlier entrustedwith additional charge of the
post of Director/NPM ceased to Director/NPM w.e.f. 04/07/2023. However, he continued as
Part-time Govt. Nominee Director w.e.f. 05/07/2023.
3. Shri Ranjit Kumar has been appointed as Part-time Govt. Nominee
Director w.e.f. 15/12/2023.
Cessation of Directors: -
1. Shri Rakesh Ranjan ceased to be Part-time Govt. Nominee Director
w.e.f. 07/11/2023.
2. Dr Subhash Sharma had resigned from the post of Independent Director
w.e.f. 10/05/2024 citing his personal reason related to his profession.
12. Retirement of Director by Rotation
In terms of the Companies Act, 2013, the provisions with respect to
retirement of Directors by rotation will not be applicable to the Independent Directors of
the Company. In view of this, no Independent Director is being considered to be retired by
rotation. The Part-time Govt. nominee directors are considered as directors not liable to
retire by rotation and all other directors (i.e. functional directors) are considered as
director liable to retire by rotation. Accordingly, Shri Sanjai Kumar will be retiring in
the AGM and being eligible, offers himself for reappointment.
13. Remuneration to Directors
RCIL, being a Government Company under the provisions of the Companies
Act, 2013, the Directors of the Company are appointed by the President of India acting
through Ministry of Railways ("MoR"), Government of India. The functional
Directors are appointed by the Government of India who draw remunerations under Industrial
Dearness Allowance pattern of pay scale as pre-determined by the Government and as per the
terms and conditions of their appointment issued by the Government of India from time to
time.
The Part time Government Nominee Directors on the Board of the Company
do not draw any remuneration from the Company.
The Part-time non-
Directors are paid a sitting fee of Rs20,000 per meeting for attending
meetings of Board or Committees thereof, besides cost of travel and lodging in case of
outstation Directors.
14. Policy on Performance Evaluation of Directors
RCIL is a Government Company under the administrative control of MoR.
The functional directors including Chairman and Managing Director are selected on the
recommendations of Public Enterprises Selection Board in accordance with the procedure and
guidelines laid down by Government of India.
The Company enters into Memorandum of Understanding ("MoU")
with the Administrative Ministry, i.e. MoR every year, containing key performance
parameters for the company. The performance of the Company is evaluated by Department of
Public Enterprise vis-?-vis MoU entered into with the MoR.
The evaluation of performance of Functional Directors includes
self-evaluation by the respective functional directors and subsequent assessment by CMD
with final evaluation by the MoR (the administrative ministry).
The performance evaluation of CMD includes self-evaluation and final
evaluation by the MoR.
In respect of Part-time Government nominee directors, their evaluation
is done by the MoR as per the procedure laid down. Since, Independent Directors are
appointed by the administrative Ministry, their evaluation is also done by the MoR and
Department of Public Enterprises ("DPE").
Ministry of Corporate Affairs ("MCA") vide its circular dated
June 5, 2015 had exempted Government Companies from the provisions of section 178(2) of
the Companies Act, 2013, which requires performance evaluation of every director by the
Nomination & Remuneration Committee. The circular further exempted Government
Companies from the provisions of Section 134 (3) (p) of Companies Act 2013, if directors
are evaluated by the Ministry which is administratively in-charge of the Company as per
its own evaluation methodology.
Further, MCA vide its notification dated 5th July, 2017 has exempted
the provisions relating to review of performance of Chairperson and non-independent
directors and the Board as a whole from evaluation mechanism, prescribed in Schedule IV of
the Companies Act, 2013, for Government Companies.
15. Committees of the Board
As on March 31, 2024, the Board had five committees namely the Audit
Committee, the Nomination & Remuneration Committee, the Corporate Social
Responsibilities Committee, the Stakeholders Relationship Committee and the Risk
Management Committee. The detailed note on the composition of the Board and its committees
are provided in the Corporate Governance Report section of this Annual Report and the
details of the Committees of the Board is also available on the website of the Company
i.e., www.railtel.in
16. Subsidiary
During the financial year 2023-24, Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA)
vide its order dated 29.08.2023, on Company Petition no. 24.01.2023- CL-III, had approved
the Scheme of Amalgamation ("Scheme") embodying amalgamation of RailTel
Enterprises Ltd ("Subsidiary Company") with and into RailTel Corporation of
India Ltd ("Holding Company"), under the provisions of section 230-232 of
the Companies Act, 2013 and rules framed thereunder read with notification no. GSR.
582(E) dated June 13, 2017 issued by MCA.
Both subsidiary and holding Companies have duly filed their respective
e-forms INC 28 with the Registrar of Companies on 26.09.2023 and 27.09.2023, respectively.
Consequently, the Scheme has come into force on 27.09.2023, with effect from the appointed
date of the Scheme i.e. 01.10.2022. Accordingly, subsidiary Company stands amalgamated
with holding company and now stands dissolved. Subsequent to amalgamation of RailTel
Enterprises Limited with RailTel Corporation of India Limited your company do not have any
subsidiary company.
17. Projects Undertaken
The details of the projects undertaken during the year are included in
Management Discussion & Analysis Report which is forming part of this Annual report.
18. Procurement from Micro and Small Enterprises
The Govt. of India has notified a Public Procurement Policy for Micro
and Small Enterprises ("MSE") Order, 2012. In terms of said policy and
issued guidelines, a mandatory procurement of a minimum of 25% of total annual procurement
is required from Micro and Small Enterprise?s. Out of 25% target of annual
procurement from MSE?s, sub targets of 4% from MSEs owned by Schedule Caste or
Scheduled
Tribe Entrepreneurs and 3% from MSEs owned by Women Entrepreneurs are
also earmarked for procurement.
The achievement of procurement target from
MSEs (25% including a sub-target of 4% from MSEs owned by SC/ST
entrepreneurs and 3% from women owned MSEs) during the financial year
2023-24 in compliance to the aforementioned Public Procurement Policy
is shown in Table-2.
Table-2
S. No. |
Particulars |
2023-24 ( in Cr.) |
1 |
Total annual procurement - goods &
services (in value) |
512.17 |
2 |
Total value of procurement(goods &
services) through MSEs |
270.26 |
3 |
Procurement of goods &
services through MSEs as % of total procurement of goods and services |
53% |
4 |
Total value of procurement (goods &
services) through SC/ST MSEs |
18.93 |
5 |
Procurement of goods or
services through SC/ST as % of total procurement of goods and services |
4% |
6 |
Total value of procurement through Women MSEs |
14.97 |
7 |
Procurement of goods or
services through women MSEs as % of total procurement of goods and services |
3% |
Central Government vide its notification no. F.
No. 16/8/2018-P&G policy dated 02.11.2018 has mandated that
companies registered under Companies Act 2013 with a turnover of more than Rs500 Crores
and all CPSUs shall be required to get themselves on boarded on Trade
Receivables Discounting System (TReDS). TReDS is an institutional
mechanism set up in order to facilitate the discounting of invoices for MSMEs from
Corporate Buyers through multiple financers.
RailTel is registered on TReDS platform w.e.f. 18.03.2019 through Mynd
Solution Private Limited or M1 Xchange.
RailTel is always putting efforts for overall development of community
and provides opportunities to all sections of the society in terms of procurement.
However, despite providing opportunities and raising awareness among Micro, Small, and
Medium Enterprises (MSEs), including SC/ST and Women-owned MSEs, their participation in
opportunities offered by RailTel in terms of procurement of goods and services remains low
due to dynamic nature, technical requirements and competitive environment of the service
industry. Necessary awareness and interactive sessions (Vendor meets) were organised in
February 2024 and March 2024, to increase their participation in procurements done by
RailTel. This included 'All India Vendor Meet? in Feb 2024 to strengthen
partnerships, listen to vendor challenges and gather suggestions that will help streamline
operations/ executions, make processes smoother and more user-friendly for growth as well
as brighter future for all parties involved. RailTel also launched new 'Vendor Bill
tracking system' so that they could track their bills and vendors were made aware about
the system. Apart from this, mutual discussions were also held in the meeting to maintain
transparency between RailTel and vendors. A Vendor meet specifically targeted for Women is
conducted in March 2024.
19. Right to Information Act, 2005
Your Company has a well-defined mechanism in place to deal with the RTI
applications under the Right to Information Act, 2005 ("RTI Act"). RCIL being a
responsible Public Sector Undertaking has complied with the provisions of the RTI Act and
has designated Nodal Officer, CPIO, CAPIO, Transparency officer and Appellate Authority as
required under the provisions of the RTI Act. The RTI Act seeks to provide for setting out
the practical regime of Right to Information for citizens to secure access to information
under the control of Public Authorities in order to promote transparency and
accountability in the working of every Public Authority.
Your Company has hosted RTI related information on its website and same
may be accessed at https:// www.railtel.in/rti.html. Besides, keeping in view the purpose
of suo-motu disclosures under section 4 of the RTI Act, 2005, your Company has hosted a
dedicated page on its website, through which a large amount of information in the public
domain is placed on a proactive basis. This is being done to make the functioning more
transparent and reduce the need for filing individual RTI applications.
The details of RTI dealt during the year is shown in
Table-3.
Table-3
Particulars |
Nos. |
No. of RTI cases pending as on 01/04/2023 |
06 |
Received during the Year |
168 |
Disposed off (including
rejected) during the year |
165 |
Pending as on 31/03/2024 |
9* |
*All pending applications were within statutory timeline prescribed by
RTI Act.
20. Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report
In compliance with the requirement of Clause (f) of sub-regulation (2)
of Regulation 34 of Listing
Regulations, the Business Responsibility & Sustainability Report ("BRSR")
is presented in the separate section which is forming part of this Annual Report.
21. Particulars of Loans, Guarantees or Investments
During the year, RCIL has not given any loan or guarantees covered
under the provisions of Section 186 of the Companies Act, 2013 read with Companies
(Meetings of Board and its Powers) Rules, 2014.
The detail of investments made by the Company is given in the notes to
the Financial Statements.
22. Internal Controls Systems and their Adequacy
The Company has an internal control system in commensuration with size,
scale and complexity of its operations. During the year, the Company has engaged Internal
Auditors to carry out Internal Audit of the Company. The highlights of internal audit
report and their synopsis were placed before the Audit Committee for its review.
RCIL implemented ORACLE ERP solution with name
"Project Parivartan" and all modules like Projects,
Procurement, Operations, Maintenance, Finance, HR, Sales and Marketing and these modules
are live from December 2013. Implementation of "Project Parivartan" has
empowered all employees to focus on their core competencies, making the work environment
stress free, at the same time ensuring transparency and decision making in the system.
During the year 2023-24, RCIL?s IT team continuously worked towards strengthen of
core processes of these implemented modules so that users could effectively and
efficiently use ERP day-to-day work. New features such as Upgradation of ERP to newer
version with better look and feel, Implementation of Password Change Policy,
Implementation of New Order Entry System for Stock Exchanges Intimation, Attendance
Management Solution for CO Office, Development of ERP Change Request Portal, Tender EMD
Application and Customer Tender Application Registry have been developed apart from
regular O&M and enhancements works including development of new reports.
23. Annual Return
The Annual Return of RCIL pursuant to Section 134(3)(a) read with
Section 92(3) of the Companies Act, 2013 and Regulation 34 of Listing Regulations, for the
financial year ended on March 31, 2024 is placed at https://www.railtel.in/annual-return.
html.
24. Management?s Discussion and Analysis Report
In compliance with the requirement of Regulation 34(2)(e) of Listing
Regulations, the Management?s Discussion and Analysis Report for the year under
review is presented in separate section which is forming part of this Annual Report.
25. Human Resource Development
The Human Resource Development ("HRD") function in the
organization has been designed to maximize employee performance. HRD is primarily
concerned with the management of people within organization and focusing on policies and
systems.
RCIL firmly believes in the strength of its most vital asset i.e. Human
Resource. RCIL cares and values for its human resource which is the bedrock of success
story. To keep the employees' morale high, your Company extends several welfare benefits
to them and their families by way of implementing various new and revised welfare policies
for its employees.. for
As on 31st March, 2024, the Company had total manpower
strength of 858 employees including regular, deputationist, contractual and
consultants. The details are shown in Table-4. During the year, Company has also
availed the services of 1803 outsourced employees.
Table-4
Category |
No. of Employees for the
year ended 31.03.2023 |
No. of Employees for the
year ended 31.03.2024 |
Regular |
474 |
478 |
Employees |
|
|
On Deputation |
45 |
48 |
On Contract |
206 |
291 |
(Direct) |
|
|
On Contract |
27 |
30 |
(Re-employed) |
|
|
Consultants |
13 |
11 |
The percentage of women employees, SC/ST/OBC/EWS employees, persons
with disabilities and ex-servicemen out of regular employees of the Company is shown in Table-5:-Table-5
Category |
No. of Employees for
the Year ended 31.03.2023 |
No. of Employees for
the Year ended 31.03.2024 |
% of total no. of regular
employees |
No. of recruitment |
|
|
|
during financial year ended
31.03.2024 made in these categories* |
Women Employees |
49 |
52 |
10.88 |
3 |
SC Personnel |
72 |
73 |
15.27 |
1 |
ST Personnel |
22 |
25 |
5.23 |
3 |
Other Backward Classes |
132 |
136 |
28.45 |
4 |
Person with Disabilities |
7 |
9 |
1.88 |
2 |
Ex-Serviceman |
0 |
1** |
0.21 |
0 |
Economic Weaker |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Section (EWS) |
|
|
|
|
* Employees who join on absorption basis are regular employees but not
part of recruitment data.
**One employee has been absorbed from subsidiary company i.e. RailTel
Enterprises Limited (REL) to RCIL on merger of REL into RCIL in September 2023.
The company has been following the Government guideline regarding
reservation for SCs, STs, OBCs, EWS, Person with disabilities and Ex-Servicemen.
26. Particulars of Employees
Your Company being a Government Company, the provisions of Section
197(12) of the Companies Act, 2013 and relevant rules issued thereunder, are not
applicable as per notification dated June 05, 2015 issued by MCA.
The terms and conditions of the appointment of Functional Directors are
subject to the applicable guidelines issued by the DPE, Government of India.
27. Rajbhasha (Official Language)
For implementation of the Official Language Policies of the Government
of India, an Official Language Cell is set up in RailTel Corporate Office comprising of
Mukhya Rajbhasha Adhikari, a nominated Rajbhasha Adhikari and a Senior Manager/Rajbhasha,
Consultant/Rajbhasha. Each
Regional Office of RailTel has one Nominated Rajbhasha Adhikari. In
RailTel, the Official Language
Implementation Committee meeting is held every quarter under the
chairmanship of Chairman and Managing Director. Official language progress reports are
regularly sent to Railway Board, Ministry of Home Affairs, Town Official Language
Implementation Committee (NARAKAS).
Second Sub-Committee of the Parliamentary Committee on Official
Language inspection.
RailTel?s Patna, Lucknow, Bangalore, Prayagraj, Nagpur territory
offices had been inspected by the Second Sub-Committee of the Parliamentary Committee on
Official Language on 10.05.2023, 24.06.2023 16.07.2023, 18.11.2023, 18.01.2024
respectively to review the use of Hindi.
Organizing Hindi Pakhwada
On the occasion of Hindi Diwas, Hindi Pakhwada was celebrated in
RailTel from 14 to 29 September, 2023 and various activities/programs were organized
during the pakhwada. On the occasion of the closing ceremony of Hindi Pakhwada 2023, the
Chairman and Managing Director gave cash prizes and certificates to the officers and
employees who secured first, second and third place in different competitions. Consolation
prizes were also given. Besides, award was also given to employees who had done
Commendable work in Hindi during the year.
Hindi Workshop:
As per the instructions of the Department of
Official Language Ministry of Home Affairs, workshops are organized
every quarter in the office in which eminent scholars of Hindi are invited for lectures.
Four workshops were organized by RailTel during Financial Year 2023-24.
Publication of "RailTel Gatividhian" and Rajbhasha Patrika
"RailTel Pragati"
A quarterly newsletter "RailTel Gatividhian" is being
published regularly by RCIL for the use of the Official Language. Its 19th edition was
published as
International Women?s Day special edition named
"Tavishi". Besides this, RailTel also publishes the official language magazine
"RailTel Pragati" a half yearly basis of which nine(9) editions have been
published so far. Provision has been made to pay honorarium for articles published in
RailTel magazine and News letter.
RailTel Rajbhasha Magazine "RailTel Pragati" was awarded in
the best magazine category by Town Official Language Implementation committee (NARAKAS).
It is a matter of pride for "RailTel Pragati" and a
tremendous achievement as the Town Official Language Implementation Committee has 44 PSUs
as its members.
28. Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal of Sexual Harassment
In order to provide protection against sexual harassment of women at
workplace and for prevention and redressal of complaints of sexual harassment, RailTel has
Internal Complaint Committee as a system to prohibit & prevent the social evil of
Sexual Harassment at Workplace in accordance with the Sexual Harassment of Women at
Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 and rules made thereunder.
The objective is to provide women, a workplace, free from harassment,
to ensure that every woman is treated with dignity and respect and to provide a speedy
redressal mechanism to women who have been subjected to sexual harassment.
For the said purposes, RCIL has an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC)
in place at its Corporate Office all four Regional Office(s) which is responsible to:-
Investigate every formal written complaint of sexual harassment.
Meet at regular intervals.
Prepare an Annual Report containing the details of complaints of
sexual harassment pursuant to the provisions of Act and provide the same to employer.
Take appropriate remedial measures to respond to any substantial
allegations of sexual harassment. on The composition of Internal Complaints Committee on
Sexual Harassment comprised of one independent nominee from YWCA as member of the
committee, besides, three other executives from corporate office of the company as member
of the committee. The Committee is headed by women Chairperson. The summary of complaints
dealt during the year is shown in Table-6: Table-6
Particulars |
Nos. |
Number of complaints of Sexual
Harassment received in the year. |
Nil |
Number of complaints disposed off during the
year. |
Nil |
Number of cases pending for
more than 90 days. |
Nil |
Number of workshops on
awareness programmes against sexual harassment conducted during the year. |
2 |
29. Risk Management
The Board of Directors of your Company in their 122nd
meeting held on 17th June, 2021 has considered and approved the revision in
existing RMP to make it sync with the requirement of amendment in SEBI (LODR) Regulations,
2015. The revised Risk Management Policy is implemented in RCIL.
In order to develop and implement an Enterprise
Risk Management Framework, RCIL has constituted a Board Level Risk
Management Committee (Apex Level). The Risk Management Committee has the key role of
monitoring the development, implementation and performance of the Enterprise Risk
Management framework and maintains an enterprise-wide view of the top risks.
In order to further strengthen Risk Management and implement a suitable
process, RCIL has also formed a Functional Risk Management Committee constituted with
Chief Risk Officer and heads key functions/ departments. The functional heads will
facilitate the identification and assessment risks within their departments/functions with
the assistance of their teams. In terms of the approved Risk Management Policy, following
key risks have been identified:
1) Project Risk
2) Strategy Risk
3) Market Risk
4) People Risk
5) Technology Risk
6) Reputation Risk
7) Insurable Risk
8) Contractor/Vendor Risk
9) Cyber Security Risk
30. Related Party Transactions
Your Company has formulated a policy on Related Party Transactions
which is also available on Company?s website at www.railtel.in. This policy deals
with the review and approval of Related Party Transactions.
In terms of Ministry of Corporate Affairsorder dated 29.08.2023,
RailTel Enterprises Limited wholly owned subsidiary of your company stand amalgamated with
RailTel Corporation of India Ltd. As on date, your Company has no subsidiary company
pursuant to section 134(3)(h) of the Companies Act 2013, read with Rule 8(2) of Companies
(Accounts) Rules,
2014. During financial year 2023-24, particulars of contracts or
arrangements with related parties in specified Form no. AOC-2 and is placed at
Annexure-1.
31. Corporate Governance
A detailed report on Corporate Governance as stipulated under
Regulation 34(3) read with Schedule
V of SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure
Requirements) Regulations, 2015 is appended and forms part of the
Annual Report. The Company has always worked towards enhancing the Corporate Governance
and the principles underlying the same within the organization. Your Company is in
compliance with DPE Guidelines on Corporate Governance to the extent possible. Pursuant to
the requirements of DPE Guidelines, 2010, a certificate obtained from Practicing Company
Secretary and is forming part of this Annual Report. In compliance with the directives of
DPE, the Company is sending its quarterly report in the prescribed manner to its
Administrative Ministry/ DPE. For each quarter, CPSEs are graded under various heads viz;
Composition of Board, Non-
Official Directors, Board Meetings, Code of Conduct,
Audit Committee, Remuneration Committee, Board Disclosures,
Directors? Remuneration etc. on the basis of scores prescribed for each head. For the
year under review, RCIL has secured, based on self-evaluation, an annual score of
"94.84%" which falls under "Excellent" grade for compliance
of DPE Guidelines on Corporate Governance for FY 2023-24.
32. Corporate Social Responsibility
As per Section 134(3)(o) read with Section 135 of the Companies Act,
2013 along with the Rules made under Companies (Corporate Social Responsibility Policy)
Rules, 2014, your Company has formulated a CSR & Sustainability Policy which provides
a broad framework within which the Company will carry out its CSR activities. The policy
aims for social and economic development of community in the areas of nutrition and
healthcare, women empowerment, rural development, education, skill development, health and
such other areas and adhere to sustainable and transparent business practices. The
activities to be undertaken under the policy will be in accordance with Schedule-VII of
the Act and directives issued by DPE from time to time.
During the FY 2023-24, RCIL has undertaken to spend Rs 739.36 lakh on
CSR activities (Rs 484.49 Lakh for FY 2023-24, which is 2% of average net profit before
tax (PBT) of the company earned during the immediately preceding three Financial Years)
plus Rs 254.87 Lakh as unspent from previous years. Out of this CSR budget, Rs 484 Lakh
was spent during FY 2023-24 on CSR activities.
During the year, RCIL has carried out various CSR activities like
Promoting Education, establishing Health Center in Purulia, West Bengal, Healthcare and
Nutrition for poor at SPSR, Vellore & children of sex workers in Kolkata, Support to
orphan/slum children, Skill development for youth at Delhi, Donation of sewing machines at
Delhi, Construction of toilets and Installation of Street Lights at Kushambi, UP etc.
One of the RCIL?s flagship CSR initiative namely
RailTel?s Akansha Super-30, Dehradun, Uttarakhand? is related to providing
free lodging and mentorship to poor but talented students from state of Uttarakhand, for
admission to IIT?s and other premier engineering institutes. The program has success
rate of 96% with students getting admission to IIT-JEE and other premier engineering
institutes. The Annual Report on CSR as prescribed under Companies (Corporate Social
Responsibility Policy) Rules, 2014 is forming part of this Report and is placed at Annexure-II.
33. Secretarial Standards
During the year, the Company is in compliance with the applicable
Secretarial Standard issued by the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) to the
extent applicable.
34. Compliance of Cyber Security Guidelines
During the year, the Company is in compliance with the applicable Cyber
Security Guidelines issued by the Government of India to the extent applicable.
35. Vigil Mechanism
Vigilance Administration is an integral part of any organization. If
the vigilance set up is effective in an organization, it will certainly ensure the
functioning of the other segments in an efficient way. The
Vigilance Administration consists of preventive and punitive
anti-corruption measures. The measures include detecting irregularities, analyzing, and
finding out reasons for such irregularities and making effective systemic improvements to
curb them. It also includes identifying public servants accountable for misconduct and
taking appropriate punitive actions. During the year, the Vigilance Department carried out
various preventive activities including periodic and surprise inspections which led to
various system improvements. This shall enable RCIL to proactively ensure transparency in
various spheres of Company?s activities as well as also take punitive measures
wherever required. The Status of Vigilance activities during the year is shown in Table-7:
Table-7
Sr. No. |
Particulars |
Nos. |
Remarks |
1 |
Number of Complaints received
during the year |
36 |
All complaints dealt as per
complaint handling policy in a timely manner. |
2 |
Number of investigation
reports carried out during the year (incl. under directions of CVC & Railway Board) |
14 |
Related to tender/contract
management and procedure violations. |
3 |
Number of Officers against
whom disciplinary proceeding initiated arising out of investigations (incl. CBI cases) |
|
|
|
a) Major departmental action |
0 |
|
|
b) Minor departmental action |
0 |
|
4 |
Number of Inspections conducted during the
year |
|
|
|
a) Periodic inspection |
50 |
Across Corporate Office, Regional . units 13
offices& field |
|
b) Surprise inspection |
|
|
|
c) CTE Type inspection |
04 |
|
5 |
Number of System Improvements taken up during
the year |
12 |
In respect to HR/Admin policies &
procurement matters. |
(i) Inspections by Vigilance Department
Vigilance team led by CVO visited Hyderabad from 07.07.2023 to
11.07.2023 during which inspection was carried out at Southern Region Regional Office and
Store & Data Center at Secunderabad.
CVO accompanied by Vigilance team inspected Chandigarh Territory
Office, Chandigarh PoP, Hartron Project Office and Ambala PoP from 19.07.2023 to
20.07.2023.
CVO visited Bangalorefrom 19.09.2023 to 21.09.2023 during which
Territory Manager/Bangalore gave an overview of the territory.
CVO inspected Gandhigram PoP on 07.09.2023 and Ekta Nagar PoP on
09.09.2023.
As a part of periodic inspection, Vigilance team inspected Jaipur PoP
and Dausa PoP on 30.04.2023 & 01.05.2023 respectively. The team also inspected
Varanasi and Prayagraj PoP from 08.09.2023 to 09.09.2023 and Ludhiana and Amritsar PoP on
15.06.2023 to 17.06.2023.
Other than periodic inspections, Sr. DGM/Vigilance made a surprise
inspection of Bhubaneswar PoP and Puri PoP on 01.12.2023.
(ii) Other important work done in Vigilance department
IT Initiatives: Online Complaint Portal is already linked
to website for complaints handling.
Vigilance profiles for all E-5 and above level Executives updated on
SOLVE (System for
Online Vigilance Enquiry) portal of DoPT. Online Vigilance database of
all Executives are updated in ERP. After receiving request from
HR Department, 100% vigilance clearance is processed by Vigilance
Department on ERP.
Trainings: 28 trainings conducted on procurement,
contract and preventive vigilance matters covering all employees.
(iii) Vigilance Awareness Week
As per the CVCs directives, Vigilance Awareness Week was observed in
RailTel from October 30, 2023 to November 5, 2023 with the theme "Say no to
corruption; commit to the Nation"; "Hkz"Vkpkj
dk fojks/k djsa jk"V? ds ?fr lefiZr jgsa?- During the
week, a number of vigilance awareness activities were carried out and
events organized involving
RCIL?s Officials as well as for other Citizens. week began with
integrity pledge to RCIL officials on 30.10.2023. A brief of such activities is as under:
1) During the Vigilance Awareness Week on 30.10.2023, CMD administered
integrity pledge to all RailTel Employees. The Officials from Regional/Territory Offices
also joined through
RailTel?s in-house Telepresence services.
2) A Nukkad Natak on Public Interest Disclosure & Protection of
Informer (PIDPI) was organized by employees on 30.10.2023.
3) A Quiz competition was held among all employees of Corporate Office
on 30.10.2023.
4) On 31st October, 2023 Mrs Arti C Srivastava, Addl. Secy,
CVC delivered a talk about awareness of PIDPI.
5) On 1st November, 2023, Additional Secretary from CVC, Dr
Praveen Kumari Singh spoke about Good Governance & Cyber hygiene and and Shri B.K.
Singh, Dy. Legal Adviser, CBI delivered a talk on Departmental Misconduct and Criminal
Misconduct.
6) On concluding day, Shri S.P. Beck, ED (Vigilance/ S&T), Railway
Board delivered a talk on importance of honesty, integrity and probity in life.
7) During the observance of VAW-2023, various competitions were held,
where employees and their family members participated. The winners for Speech/Debate,
Article/Essay, Poem, Quiz, Nukkad Natak & Posters competition were also felicitated
with certificate of appreciation on 03.11.2023.
8) During the closing ceremony of Vigilance Awareness Week, RailTel
Vigilance Department released Fourteenth edition of Vigilance Bulletin.
9) Vendors Meet: Organized Vendor meets at
Regional Offices and Corporate Office Vigilance Awareness Week 2023.
10) During 3 Months campaign period (16th August, 2023 to 15th
November, 2023), as per CVC directives, RailTel had very fruitful Capacity Building
Program sessions on 5-themes, namely, Systems and Procedures, Cyber Hygiene &
Security, Procurement, Role of IO/ PO in conducting inquires and HR Systems &
Procedures.
36. Statutory Disclosures
Your Directors have made necessary disclosures, as required under
various enactments including the Companies Act, 2013 and the SEBI (Listing Obligations and
Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015.
37. Auditors
Statutory Auditors
The C&AG has appointed M/s S.R. Goyal & Co. of New Delhi as
Central Statutory Auditors of the Company to audit the Financial Statements for the year
ended on 31st March, 2024. Besides that, the C&AG has also appointed the following
firms of Chartered Accountants as Branch Auditors for audit of the Regional Office(s) of
Company:
Auditor |
Region |
M/s. S.R. Goyal & Co. |
Northern Region &
Corporate Office |
M/s. Laxminiwas & Co. |
Southern Region |
M/s. J L Sengupta & CO. |
Eastern Region |
M/s. Banshi Jain & Associates |
Western Region |
In terms of the authorization given by the members in their last Annual
General Meeting, the Board on the recommendation of Audit Committee has already considered
and approved the payment of fee for all the above Auditors to the aggregate extent of Rs39
Lakh excluding GST.
Cost Auditors
The Company has appointed M/s. Dhananjay V. Joshi, Cost Accountants as
Cost Auditors to audit the cost record maintained by the Company for the Financial Year
2023-24.
The Company has filed Form CRA-2 with the MCA in this regard.
Secretarial Auditor
During the year, pursuant to provisions of Section 204 of the Companies
Act, 2013 read with rules made thereunder, RCIL has appointed M/s. T. Chatterjee &
Associates, Practicing Company Secretaries, as Secretarial Auditor of the Company for the
Financial Year 2023-24. The Secretarial Audit has been conducted by M/s. T. Chatterjee
& Associates, Practicing Company Secretaries and issued a Secretarial Audit Report in
the format prescribed under Companies (Appointment and Remuneration of Managerial
Personnel) Rules, 2014. The Secretarial Audit report of the Company for the year ended
31st March, 2024 in Form no. MR-3 and the Management?s reply on the observation/
comments of Secretarial auditor shall forms part of this report and are placed at Annexure-III
and Annexure-IV respectively.
Internal Auditors
Your Company has appointed five Internal Auditors for carrying internal
audit of Corporate & four regions. The details of internal auditors are as under: -
Name Internal Auditors |
Region |
M/s Raj Har Gopal & Co. |
Office Corporate |
M/s Sudhir Kumar Jain and Associates |
Northern Region |
M/s A R Sulakhe |
Southern Region |
M/s KGRS & Co |
Eastern Region |
M/s Vinod Singhal & Co. LLP |
Western Region |
38. Comments of C&AG
The comment(s) of C&AG are attached and forming part of this Annual
Report.
39. Auditors' Report
The Auditors? Report of the Company for the year ended 31st March,
2024, is attached with the Financial Statement of the Company. There is no qualification
in the Auditors Report on the Financial Statements of the company. During FY 2023-24, no
fraud has been reported by the Auditors of the Company.
40. Energy Conservation, Technology Adoption, Foreign Exchange Earnings
and Outgo
The Company is presently engaged in providing telecom services. The
disclosure on Conservation of Energy and Technology Absorption as required under the
provisions of Section 134(3)(m) of the Companies Act, 2013 and as prescribed under Rule 8
of Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014 is forming part of this Report and is placed at Annexure-
V.
41. MOU with Administrative Ministry
RCIL is signing a MoU with the Government of India,
MoR whereby laying inter alia the physical and financial targets. The
MOU pertaining to FY 2023-24 has been signed with MoR within stipulated time.
For the year 2022-23, RCIL has got "Very Good" rating
from DPE.
For the MoU targets 2023-24, RCIL has complied with various guidelines
communicated by DPE as given below:-a) DPE Guidelines issued from time to time on CSR
expenditure; b) Steps and initiative taken for Health & Safety improvement of Human
Resources in CPSEs as prescribed by the Administrative Ministry; c) Procurement from GeM
is Rs. 56.45 Crore
(11.02%) of total procurement (goods & services) against approved
plan of Rs. 52.83 Crore. d) Procurement of goods or services through
MSEs is 53% total procurement of goods and services against target of
25%. e) Procurement of goods & services through SC/
ST MSEs is 4% of total procurement of goods & services against
target of 4%. f) Procurement of goods & services through
Women MSEs is 3% of total procurement of goods and services against
target of 3%. g) Acceptance/Rejection of goods & services through TReDs portal is
100%. h) Expenditure management economy measures and rationalization of expenditure. i)
Guidelines on Accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan) j) Guidelines on
implementation of the Apprenticeship Act, 1961 k) Compliance of provisions related to
TREDS as outlined in DPE OM NO-DPE-7(4)/2007-Fin dated 04.05.2020.
The company has also complied with the applicable provisions of the
Companies Act, 2013 and SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015 which are within the control of the
company.
The details of DPE MOU 2023-24 target parameter vs achivement has been
given at Annexure-VI.
42. Event occurring after the Balance Sheet Date
As such, no significant the end of the financial year to which this
Financial Statements relates and date of this report.
43. General Disclosure
Your Directors state that no disclosure or reporting is required in
respect of the following items as there were no transactions on these items during the
year under review: (a) Details relating to deposits covered under Chapter V of the
Companies Act, 2013.
(b) Issue of equity shares with differential rights as to
dividend, voting or otherwise. (c) Issue of shares (including sweat equity shares) to
employees of the Company under any scheme.
(d) Neither the Chairman and Managing Director nor the Whole-time
Directors of the Company receive any remuneration or commission from subsidiary company.
(e) No Significant or material orders were passed by the
Regulators or Courts or Tribunals which impact the going concern status and Company?s
operations in future. (f) Application made or proceeding pending under the Insolvency and
Bankruptcy Code, 2016. (g) One time settlement of loan obtained from the Banks or
financial institutions.
44. Transfer of Unclaimed Dividend to Investor Education and Protection
Fund
During the year under review, no amount was required to be transferred
to the Investor Education and Protection Fund by the Company.
45. Directors Responsibility Statement
In terms of the provisions of section 134(3)(c) read with section
134(5) of the Companies Act, 2013, as amended, your Directors confirm that:
(a) in the preparation of the annual accounts, the applicable
accounting standards had been followed along with proper explanation relating to material
departures; (b) the directors had selected such accounting policies and applied them
consistently and made judgments and estimates that are reasonable and prudent so as to
give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company at the end of the
financial year and of the profit and loss of the company for that period;
(c) the directors had taken proper and sufficient care for the
maintenance of adequate accounting records in accordance with the provisions of Companies
Act, 2013 for safeguarding the assets of the company and for preventing and detecting
fraud and other irregularities; (d) the directors had prepared the annual accounts on a
going concern basis;
(e) that internal financial controls are adequate and operating
effectively; and
(f) the directors have devised proper systems to ensure compliance with
the provisions of all applicable laws and that such systems were adequate and operating
effectively.
46. Acknowledgements
Your Directors would like to place on record their sincere appreciation
and gratitude to the Indian Railways, Government of India, Department of Investment and
Public Asset Management (DIPAM), Ministry of Communications and IT and other
Ministries/Departments, subscribers of Company?s telecom services, the stakeholders,
and bankers and to all the State Governments, Local Bodies and Regulatory authorities for
their continued cooperation and invaluable support. Your Directors thank all shareholders,
business partners and all members of the RCIL Family for their faith, trust and confidence
reposed in the Board.
Your Directors express their deep appreciation for the hard work and
dedicated efforts put in by the employees at all levels and look forward to their
continued contribution in achieving the mission and objective of the Company.
For and on behalf of the Board of RCIL
|
Sd/- |
|
Sanjai Kumar |
|
Chairman and Managing Director |
|
DIN: 06923630 |
Place: New Delhi |
|
Date: 23.07.2024 |
|
|