March 09, 2026

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THE GREAT NI COBAR CONTROVERSY

By day, Galathea Bay, a crescent of sand in the wild frontier of Great Nicobar Island, is bathed in the shifting blues and emeralds of the Indian Ocean. Behind it rise dense tropical forests, alive with flora and fauna found nowhere else. Clear streams and waterfalls slice through the green, emptying themselves into mangrove-lined creeks where saltwater crocodiles bask in quiet estuaries. February is the dry season here, and the air hangs hot and humid. But, by night, the beach turns cool, dark and hushed, the moonlight casting a silver glow across the sea. From the waters emerges an immense shape, dragging itself ashore. She's a leatherback turtle, two metres long, weighing over 400 kg, one of the largest sea turtles on EarthIn what can only be called a marvel of nature, she has swum over 6,000 km from the Australian coast, a solitary journey of more than six months back to the beach of her birth, guided by a magnetic imprint etched into her brain. Her flippers carve deep furrows as she finds the right patch of sand and lowers nearly a hundred eggs into a hidden chamber. It is a primeval ritual that has made Galathea Bay the largest nesting ground for giant leatherback turtles in Southeast AsiaThese giant creatures, as old as the dinosaurs, are only part of the extraordinary biodiversity on the Great Nicobar Island. On this UNESCO-listed protected biosphere, you will also find the Nicobar Megapode, a chicken-sized bird named so because of its unusually large feet. It builds

CRACK IN THE VAULT

It began as a routine government exercise. In mid-January, officials from Haryana's Directorate of Treasuries and Accounts (DTA) wrote to a Chandigarh branch of IDFC First Bank, seeking the closure of several long-running accounts and the transfer of the balances to the government's Axis Bank account. As part of the standard reconciliation practice ahead of the fiscal year-end, the DTA compared the bank's balance confirmations with figures in the government's Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS). The figures did not tally: deposits reflected in the government's books were missing from the bank's statementsThe first alarm was raised by midlevel treasury officers and escalated to chief secretary Anurag Rastogi, who ordered an immediate reconciliation. It revealed discrepancies across multiple accounts spanning several departments. Manual cheque clearances, forged signatures and suspicious debit entries pointed to manipulation. By early February, the hole was estimated at nearly Rs 590 crore--larger than the bank's Q3FY26 net profit of Rs 503 crore. The bank claims to have returned Rs 583 crore (principal plus interest)On February 24, Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini, who also holds the finance portfolio, told the assembly that "the entire amount lost, including the funds of some Haryana government departments, boards and corporations, has been deposited back into our accounts within 24 hours". He added that a case had been lodged and the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) was investigatingOTHE SHOCKWAVE n February 21, IDFC First Bank formally reported to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that it had detected a suspected fraud. In a filing to the stock exchanges the same day, the bank confirmed that about Rs 590 crore was involved. Though it described the affair as an "isolated incident", the disclosure rattled the markets. On February 23, the bank's shares plunged nearly 20 per cent in a single trading session, erasing Rs 14,000 crore in investor wealthRegulators sought to calm nerves. RBI governor Sanjay Malhotra said the central bank was "watching developments" but saw no "systemic issue", signalling that the incident did not threaten broader banking stability"This is a specific, isolated incident in one branch with one client group," said V. Vaidyanathan, MD & CEO, IDFC First Bank. "Cheques have been forged. A bunch of people have come together to make it happen." He added that the bank's core position remained strong, with operating profit having crossed 2 per cent and expected to reach 3.5 per cent, while margins were likely to improve to 5.8 per cent in Q4. Haryana government deposits accounted for about 0.5 per cent of total deposits; following the state's notification, the bank saw an outflow of around Rs 200 crore--a small fraction of its Rs 2.8 lakh crore deposit baseSome board members told india today that the bank held emergency