Women directors: Over 2K cos yet to comply with Sebi norm

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[Editor: It is surprising to see, why SEBI wants to have an women director by hook and crook and why is the honourable Supreme Court of India is so silent on the matter; which is highly "Gender Biased"??!! It seems that the SEBI has forgotten to take note of "The Directive Principles of State Policy", contained in Part IV of the Constitution of India. The Forty-second Amendment, which came into force in January 1977, attempted to raise the status of the Directive Principles by stating that no law implementing any of the Directive Principles could be declared unconstitutional on the grounds that it violated any of the Fundamental Rights. This is happening  due to, excessively freewheeling style of Indian democracy]

Apr 24, 2015: As many as 2,015 companies listed on the BSE and 263 on the NSE are yet to comply with market regulator Sebi's directive to appoint at least one woman director on the board, Lok Sabha was informed on Friday. 

Of the 1,624 companies listed on the NSE, 1,361 companies have complied, while 263 companies or 16 percent have not complied with Sebi's women director norm, Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha said during Question Hour. 

Of the 5,305 companies listed on BSE, 3,290 companies have complied with and 2,015 companies or 38 percent have not complied with the norm as on April 16, he added. 

The capital markets watchdog Sebi had issued guidelines in February 2014 asking companies to appoint at least one woman director on their boards by October 1, 2014 which was later relaxed to April 1, 2015. 

"The government has been vigilant on the matter of appointment of women director... It is in companies' interest to diversify so that there functioning can improve. There are a large number of companies which are yet to comply. 

The corporate sector is charged with the issue," Sinha said. When asked about the process government will undertake for PSUs to comply with this norm, he said "this is methodical process and we need to ensure that capable people are on the board. We are going through that vetting process. Impeccable vetting process will take some time". 

For private sector companies, Sinha said since it is a market-driven economy, it is up to them to comply. "We can only guide and frame rules. After that it is up to the companies to implement."

Courtesy: Moneycontrol.com