BUDGET 2000
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
COMMENTARY
GOVT&ECONOMY
Y2K: BIZ FEATURES
INDIA & THE WTO
CREDIT POLICY
BIZ IN THE USA
CARS & MOBIKES
MANAGEMENT
CASE STUDY
BIZ-QUIZ
USEFUL INFO
ARCHIVES
NEWSLINKS
SEARCH REDIFF

Govt mulls reservation for women on company boards

The Department of Company Affairs is contemplating a mandatory provision in the amended Companies Act to have certain reservations for women on the managing board of companies.

Addressing a seminar on the Companies (Second Amendment) Bill 1999 in Bombay today, Company Affairs Secretary Dr P L Sanjeeva Reddy said that the nomination of women members on the company board would eliminate the present gender discrimination.

The seminar was organised by the Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

In this context, Dr Reddy asked the BCCI to set up a taskforce to study the idea of women reservation among other issues related to corporate governance. He gave ten-point agenda to the taskforce headed by M K Sharma, chairman of the legal affairs committee of the BCCI.

The taskforce will submit its report by the May-end.

Dr Reddy also informed that his department is planning set up a National Academy of Corporate Governance in line with the model of US Conference Board where various professional bodies including merchant chambers could contribute their information for dissemination among the enterpreneurs, provide training and institutional support to implement the corporate governance.

The academy can also create a benchmark and suggest best practices for better corporate governance, he observed.

Dr Reddy said that his department is currently engaged in the exciting task of enabling the Indian companies to excel in a globally competitive market, create wealth for the shareholders and the nation by creating an investor friendly environment, particularly when the government is withdrawing itself as an investor in the economy.

Besdies having its own committees on several critical issues, Dr Reddy felt that the BCCI taskforce should suggest the composition of audit committee in a company and who should head the committee. The taskforce will also review the penalty clauses regarding non-compliance of listing norms and the proposed competition law in light of the emerging global scenario.

Dr Reddy also felt that the inter-state cooperative societies like Amul should be brought under the Companies Act and asked the taskforce to suggest suitable action. Similarly, whether the public sector banks could be converted into a corporate identity and register under the Act to facilitate the process of divestment, needs to be discussed, he said.

He later met with the Reserve Bank of Indias' deputy governor S K Talwar and discussed the modalities to curb the growth of small non-banking finance companies and how to protect the investors against investing in such companies. He said imparting education and spreading awareness are essential.

UNI

Business