NEW DELHI: The Director General of the country’s premier think tank, the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA), Sujan R. Chinoy, has been found in possession of a Canteen Smart Card (CSD) despite neither he nor any employee of the Institute being authorized to possess one.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD), in response to a Right to Information (RTI) query, clarified that the CSD card was issued to Chinoy “erroneously.” According to the RTI reply, “Sujan Chinoy is not eligible for canteen facilities. The CSD card has been made erroneously.”
The RTI reply, dated October 22, was signed by Brig. Tamojeet Biswas, Central Public Information Officer at the Integrated Headquarters of the MoD (Army). The reply was addressed to The Polity, a publication of Vud Media India Foundation based in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
Eligibility for a CSD card requires the applicant to sign an indemnity, which must be countersigned by a designated officer.
The RTI reply explained that all Defence Civilian employees must fill out an application for the card, which needs to be countersigned by a nominated officer in the rank of Director. This application must be submitted along with a copy of the applicant’s payslip, PAN card, and a fee of ₹165.
Efforts by this newspaper to reach the DG for his comments were unsuccessful. The story will be updated with his response when available.
Sources familiar with the matter disclosed that the CSD card had been “hotlisted,” effectively blocking or canceling it.
The CSD card application requires a recommendation from another person before it is sanctioned. The RTI talks about it, with the response that the information asked in the query is not available in print/digital form.
“The application of CSD is kept for 90 days after personalization of the card. The application is more than one year and nine months old thus not available,” the response said.
The personnel of the Institute were well aware of the canteen card issued to DG with few mentioning the purchase of a four-wheeler through the CSD card, among the other things.
“As per the policy only the authorised Card Holder can buy items/stores from the URC (Unit Run Canteen). No another person is allowed to enter the URC.”
Also, the CSD card, as per the employees, was renewed as well in January 2023 with a new card issued. The card was issued in 2022.
The sources when asked about the actions taken in such a case were not clear of the future course of action.
The copy of the RTI which is available with the reporter was replied to by the MoD which funds the institute.
The MP-IDSA, established in 1965 and funded by the MoD, is an autonomous body registered under the Societies Registration Act. The Defence Minister typically serves as the President of the Institute, though there have been exceptions, such as Pranab Mukherjee, who assumed the role as Minister of External Affairs.
In February 2020, the Institute was renamed in honor of the late Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. The Executive Council (EC) of the Institute, which includes ex-officio members such as the Defence and Foreign Secretaries, is responsible for formulating policies for its effective functioning.
In 2021, 19 employees filed a court case against the Institute, marking the first such instance in its 59-year history. The MP-IDSA argued that except for funding, the MoD has no control over its administration. However, the court ruled that the Institute’s functioning indicates “deep and pervasive” control by the MoD, making it an instrumentality of the State subject to writ jurisdiction.
During the COVID-19 Pandemic, as this newspaper reported, disregard for COVID-19 protocols was said to have resulted in the infection spreading inside the premier defence think tank under the Ministry of Defence as the DG was insistent on keeping the Institute functional with 100 percent staff strength from mid-April 2020 when the government opened essential services.
A letter was written by MP-IDSA to the Cantonment Board Hospital, which confirmed that the Institute was fully functional from April 2020.