As many as 85 per cent of the country's chief executive officers and managing directors favour the strength of independent directors in listed companies to be not more than one-fourth of the board's strength, a study by Assocham has said.
According to the Assocham Business Barometer Survey, which sought the opinion of about 200 CEOs and MDs on the issue, Corporate India felt that the one-fourth strength of independent directors in any corporate body will make its board an ideal one as also ensure effective functioning with maximum yield.
Releasing the findings of the survey, Assocham president Mahendra K Sanghi said, "It highlights that majority of the top brass of Indian industry is neither in favour of J J Irani Committee's recommendations which suggests that the number of independent directors should be one-third of the board strength nor does it concur with SEBI guidelines which say that the number of independent directors should be 50 per cent of the board's strength".
The remaining 15 per cent of top CEOs say that the decision for deciding the numbers of independent directors in the board of listed companies should be left entirely in the hands of the department of company affairs as controversy has arisen on this issue, the study said.
"The one fourth strength of independent directors in any corporate body will make its board an ideal one as also ensure effective functioning with maximum yield", according to 85 per cent of CEOs," said Sanghi.
On the practice of celebrities being inducted in the boards of large corporates, particularly in private sector, 70 per cent of CEOs preferred discontinuation of the trend.
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