The concept of Corporate Governance (CG) is, now, more than a decade old in India. However, the inadequacy and inefficacy of the governance framework in the country has been espoused by the massive corporate disaster—Satyam. The fiasco has brought into limelight the inherent shortcomings in the present corporate regulatory system that has been benchmarked on the CG structure of the United States (US) and United Kingdom (UK). In this backdrop, this article makes an effort to look at events that precipitated the Satyam fiasco and the loopholes in the system that enabled the fraud to occur. The present study also proposes to provide insights into the legislature in formulating provisions for curbing such corporate mishaps that obliterate investor confidence, particularly so when our country is desperate to draw on foreign capital to propel its economic growth.

The concept of Corporate Governance (CG) is more than a decade old in India. However, the inadequacy and inefficacy of the governance framework in the country has been espoused by the massive corporate disaster—Satyam. The fiasco has brought into limelight the inherent shortcomings in the present corporate regulatory system. `Satyam' that means `truth' in Sanskrit will always be remembered for, perhaps, the largest corporate scam to engulf this nation and which may carry the label of `India's Enron' (The Economist, 2009). Possibly, the only silver lining of this corporate catastrophe is to expose the hardcore truth of the extant CG scenario in India to the millions of stakeholders.

Satyam Computers Services Limited (Satyam) was founded by B Ramalinga Raju in 1987, to provide services in the Information Technology (IT) sector. It soon prospered to become the country's fourth largest software company with a customer base spread across 66 countries. Stocks of Satyam were traded in the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), National Stock Exchange (NSE), New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Euronext (Amsterdam, Europe). Satyam featured at the 185^th rank in the list of Fortune 500 companies at the time of the fiasco (The Economist, 2009).

In a shocking confession, Satyam's Chairman B Ramalinga Raju, in his letter of January 7, 2009, unveiled the biggest corporate fraud of the history of India with manipulations involving direct monetary implications of Rs. 7,136 cr. Further revelations by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) sequel to their enquiries extend this figure to Rs. 12,000 cr. Besides, investors in Satyam have lost not less than Rs. 14,000 cr as per the new disclosures (Tellis, 2009).

Corporate Governance Journal, Satyam Fiasco, Corporate Governance Failure, Corporate Regulatory System, Information Technology Sector, New York Stock Exchange, Monetary Implications, Business Ventures, Market Researchers, Corporate Sectors, Price Waterhouse Coopers, Indian Corporate Laws, Corporate Scandals, Entrepreneurial Decisions, Indian Companies.