'RECEIVED' RS.42/- FROM LIC OF INDIA.
P.G. Gangadharan
The Central Office of LIC had invited me to visit 'Yogakshema' and I was their guest there for about a week's time. I was treated so well. In fact I felt I was honoured in all respects.
I hasten to add here the other side of the picture. Soon after my return from Corporate Office of LIC in Mumbai, I received the order showing that my tour to Mumbai has been treated as tour and on-duty. Accordingly I was asked to submit my bills for the same. But I did not submit the bills. Sometimes I have taken the stand that I do not require any monetary benefits at all for my work. I have spent thousands of Rupees in LIC to demonstrate that it is possible to bring about improvement in its working with the willing participation of employees. I was never offered any benefit. It was also not my expectation to receive any benefit at all.
When I completed a project I received from Shri N.N. Joshi, Chief General Manager,LIC Housing Finance Limited to study the working private housing finance companies, he had asked me to submit my bills. Then also I had declined his offer saying that the fact that I was entrusted with such a job was itself a reward for me!
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| CALICUT - MUMBAI PASSENGER TRAIN ! |
But in the case of LIC, I had second thoughts. I thought I should request LIC to pay me the tour expenses for my travel to Mumbai since I was short of funds and wanted to take up another project. But unfortunately I could not immediately locate the train tickets. This compelled me to write to the Publicity Department of Central Office enclosing copy of their earlier letter to pay me the amounts they had sanctioned, waiving of course the requirement of production of original train tickets. 
By the time Shri Bajpai had moved to SEBI as Chairman and I did not know anybody in the Department. My letter was promptly forwarded to Southern Zonal Office from Mumbai. Through the Kozhikode Divisional Office I received the instructions of Zonal Office later that they were happy ('happy' is my version) to sanction Rs.42/- as passenger train fare (emphasis added) for my journey to Mumbai and back since I did not submit the original train ticket..... Story ends there. My readers may take it as a
good joke! That letter from LIC was never
replied!
.