PM discusses Satyam case with ministers

Prime minister Manmohan Singh today held discussions on the Satyam Computer fiasco – the country's biggest corporate fraud - with his senior colleagues even as the government-appointed Satyam board started looking for a way out of its tight liquidity position.

Reports suggested that the government has also indicated that it was mulling options to bail-out the erstwhile IT major.

Union minister for commerce and industry Kamal Nath was reported as saying that the the government could consider extending help if the company was short of funds, and that it was considering options and would soon announce definitive steps to aid the company in its attempts to overcome its present crisis.

Apparently, the government's motivation to get involved with bailing out the company is linked to "saving jobs and an international brand."

Nath was reported as saying that the government would mull a 'package' based on the proposals of the new board, which it had appointed recently.

Reports quoted unnamed sources as saying that the prime minister has called for an emergency meeting of senior cabinet colleagues to discuss the bail-out options.

The meeting would be attended by commerce and industry minister Kamal Nath, home minister P Chidambaram, foreign affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee, and deputy chairman of the planning commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia, reports said.

Satyam has around 53,000 employees, and does not have much liquidity, reports quoted government-appointed board member Deepak Parekh as saying. SEBI chief CB Bhave is reported to have briefed the prime minister on the matter, and cabinet secretary K M Chandrasekhar, along with finance ministry and officials of the prime minister's office (PMO) were reported to have been part of the discussions on how to keep the IT firm afloat.