BEHIND THE GLOSSY REPORT: THE MAKE BELIEVE ESG WORLD

Recently, the Sebi chairperson made a distinction that should make every company board squirm, Speaking at the “Gatekeepers of Governance’ summit, Tuhin Kanta Pandey separated “compliance” from “governance” in a way that was both elegant and damning.

- DHIRENDRA KUMAR

Compliance, he suggested, is about meeting regulatory checklists. Governance is about acting from conviction. A well-governed institution doesn’t act out of compulsion; it acts because it believes in doing the right thing. Compliance is the floor, not the ceiling.

This is exactly right, and it’s refreshing to hear a regulator acknowledge what many have suspected for years. Indian companies have become skilled at the theatre of governance without necessarily practising it. We've built an ecosystem of independent directors who attend meetings, audit committees that review reports, and compliance officers who file disclosures on time. The paperwork is immaculate. The boxes are all ticked.