An anonymous whistleblower has emailed the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, raising serious concerns about governance at the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad.
The complaint questions the eligibility of current director Ashok Mondal and criticizes his administrative decisions.
According to a media report, the email—addressed to Minister Piyush Goyal and the Secretary of DPIIT—alleges arbitrary decision-making and financial mismanagement at the institute.
Repeated attempts to contact Director Ashok Mondal and NID’s communications team went unanswered.
As the whistleblower has remained anonymous, independently verifying the claims remains difficult.
Administrative concerns
According to the whistleblower, “several faculty members and staff have been unjustly affected by arbitrary decisions, including wrongful dismissals, reappointments, and the undermining of their professional competence.”
The email takes issue with the registrar’s appointment, claiming the process showed “procedural irregularities, conflicts of interest, and manipulative tactics designed to secure a pre-selected candidate as first advertisement withdrawn and second advertisement manipulated.” NID administration has offered no clarification on appointment procedures.
Financial irregularities
The whistleblower points to serious financial protocol breaches, particularly regarding convocation expenses.
“An excessive Rs1.5 crore was allocated for the convocation ceremony, far exceeding the budgetary norms set by the institution,” the email states. “This misuse of public funds raises significant concerns about financial accountability.” The email further alleges that “several procurement decisions have bypassed standard financial and procedural norms dictated by the Controller of Finance and accounts, including violations of the Government Financial Rules (GFR).”
Without NID’s official response, these claims remain unsubstantiated.
Demands for probe
The complainant called for the ministry to step in immediately. “In light of the above points, we, the concerned members of the NID community, urge you to intervene and initiate an immediate, thorough investigation into the actions of the current leadership at NID, particularly Mr. Ashok Mondal,” states the email.The demands include “immediate reinstatement of competent faculty and senate members, reevaluation of leadership appointments, constitution of a functional governing council, restoration of financial integrity and formation of an independent review committee.” Mondal and his team have not responded to multiple requests for comment.