India Inc boards set for major churn

INDIA INC IS all set to refresh its boards with 900 NSE-listed companies looking to recruit nearly 2,000 independent directors this year.

- RAJESH KURUP

Data sourced from primeinfobase.com also show that as many as 23 Nifty50 companies will need to recruit 47 independent directors between them. They include Hindustan Unilever, ITC, UltraTech Cement, L&T and Tata Consultancy Services.

This high turnover is a fallout of the regulatory guidelines imposed in 2013 after the Satyam Computers scam. All independent directors appointed prior to 2014 were reappointed in 2014 as per the new Act.

THE NEW COMPANIES Act mandates that independent directors can hold up to two consecutive five-year terms-a maximum of 10 years - in a firm.

Hetal Dalal, president & COO of Institutional Investor Advisory Services (IIAS), noted that companies have been steadily refreshing their boards to meet the 2024 deadline when previous tenures of independent directors stop being grandfathered. "Nevertheless, the pace of this board refresh has slowed down in 2023, which is possibly why a larger churn for independent directors is on the anvil," Dalal said.