SEBI panel bats for woman directors in companies
PrintListen to this Article
Companies will now have to explain why they do not have a woman director on their boards.
Companies should at least have one director, preferably independent, on board, according to SEBI’s Primary Market Advisory Committee (PMAC).
The move is to enrich the diversity of company boards, said sources close to the development.
PMAC has also decided to do away with the granting of employee stock options (ESOPs) to independent directors. Earlier, independent directors were eligible for ESOPs.
The committee has decided not to enforce the ESOP proposal through the listing agreement, as the New Companies Act does not permit it.
PMAC has also suggested that the Remuneration Committee of a company’s board should disclose the reasons for approving the remuneration of promoter-directors. Further, it suggested that a majority of the minority shareholders should also approve the compensation.
For companies with no identifiable promoters, a special resolution should be passed.
The Companies Act stipulates that independent directors who had served a company for over 15 years should not be considered independent.
The PMAC has agreed to align the maximum number of directorships that an individual can hold in listed companies at 10 with the Companies Act. However, there is talk that the PMAC is in favour of limiting it to five so that the directors can give quality time to each company.
The performance evaluation of independent directors, earlier optional, would now be mandatory and the criteria needs to be disclosed to shareholders in the annual reports.
WHISTLEBLOWER POLICY
The panel has also recommended the extension of the whistleblower policy (meant for employees) to auditors and independent directors. Also, on the anvil, is a functional channel that enables auditors and independent directors to report suspicious transactions to the regulator.
It has also recommended rotation of auditors/ audit firm after 5/10 years.
Audit firms that have completed 10 years may receive a maximum extension of five years.
The panel is also in favour of making e-voting mandatory for all listed companies to pass resolutions. Presently, it is for the top 500 companies.
SEBI’s jurisdiction over unlisted companies (which was pointed out by the Supreme Court in the Sahara case) is understood to be in the discussion stage internally, while the issue of forward-looking statements of companies is yet to be taken up. (The Hindu Business)
Category : SEBI | Comments : 0 | Hits : 354
A financial influencer, also known as finfluencer, who was also involved in imparting training related to stock market trading has been asked to part with a little over ?12 crore, which it made unlawfully. The funds are to be credited or deposited by Ravindra Balu Bharti into an interest-bearing escrow account that has been set up in a nationalised bank especially for that purpose. The regulator stated in an order that the escrow account(s) would establish a lien in favour of SEBI and that th...
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), the country's market regulator, has announced the launch of an optional same-day (T+0) settlement cycle for a select group of 25 stocks starting March 28, as per a circular published on its website last Thursday. This new initiative, referred to as the beta version, is set to coexist with the traditional next-day (T+1) settlement cycle, where trades are settled within 24 hours of execution. The T+0 settlement option will be available for ...
Capital markets regulator Sebi on Thursday slapped a fine of Rs 48 lakh on eight entities, including promoters of United Polyfab Gujarat Ltd (UPGL), for manipulating the share prices of the company. These entities have to pay the penalty jointly and severally within 45 days, as per an order. The order came after Sebi conducted an investigation of UPGL and trading by certain entities in the scrip of the company, to ascertain whether there was any violation of the provisions of the PFUTP (Pr...
Sebi alerts investors about the growing trend of unregistered entities falsely claiming Sebi registration and offering unrealistic returns. Investors are advised to verify the registration status and consider the inherent risks associated with high-return investments. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has issued a warning to investors, cautioning them against investing money with unregistered entities that promise assured or exceptionally high returns on investments. This advi...
Capital markets regulator Sebi on Thursday issued orders of action against 15 guest experts of the Zee Business channel for unlawful trading. The entities made unlawful gains to the tune of Rs. 7.41 crore from such trades and the profit was shared with guest experts as per prior understanding, Sebi noted. The market regulator also asked the guest experts to pay Rs.7.41 crore. The guest experts appeared on the Zee Business channel from 1 February 2022 and 31 December 2022. "The facts of t...
Comments