Currently, nearly 40% of 1,670 companies listed on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) have the same individual acting as chairperson and managing director (CMD). Out of these, 144 belong to the top 500 company index, and 14 are part of the benchmark Nifty 50 index. Some of the marquee names on the list include Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries, Azim Premji of Wipro, Pawan Munjal of Hero Motocorp and Shiv Nadar of HCL Technologies. There are also CMDs of several large PSUs, such as ONGC, Coal India and NTPC.
An expert panel on corporate governance, constituted by the Securitites and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), has recommended the separation of the roles of chairperson and chief executive at India Inc to provide “a better and more balanced” governance structure and effective supervision of the management. The committee has called for the separation of the posts in companies with less than 60% public shareholding by April 1, 2020, and in the remaining companies in another two years.
The impact of proposals on board compositions could also be widespread. The committee has recommended the minimum number of directors be increased from three to six. Currently, 256 , or 15.4% listed companies’ boards comprise of five or less members. About 19 companies have the bare minimum three members, and 82 have four directors on their boards, shows the data provided by Prime Database.
Further, the proposals will create openings for 637 women independent directors. Currently, these companies have women directors that belong to the promoter group — often the spouses or relatives of top executives. Also, about a fifth of listed companies will need to add more independent directors to meet the requirement of having at least half of the board as independent.
The “role of the board of directors of listed entities has been subjected to gradual reform, a holistic re-assessment is required to further strengthen the same”, says the report submitted by the 25-member panel headed by Uday Kotak, vice chairman and MD of Kotak Mahindra Bank.
The panel is of the view that it is critical to have the sufficient number of directors “with diverse backgrounds and skill sets” on the boards of listed entities to fulfil these functions and obligation.
Another key recommendation that is expected to impact a large number of companies is on high remuneration paid to executives. In a bid to reduce instances of “disproportionate payments” to executives, the panel has proposed that companies seek nod from public shareholders if they want to pay a salaries of over Rs 5 crore, or that exceeding 2.5% of their profits (whichever is higher).
An analysis of remuneration paid by India Inc in 2016-17 shows that more than half companies could be needed to float special resolutions to continue paying high pay packets. About 34 companies, part of the Nifty 50 index, pay salaries of over Rs 5 crore. Some companies have multiple executives with salaries above the proposed threshold. In some cases, the salaries are high despite losses incurred by the companies.
The proposal on royalty and brand payments will impact some key multinational companies, including Maruti Suzuki and Colgate-Palmolive, which pay over 5% of their revenues as royalty to their overseas parent. The committee has suggested these companies take the approval of at least half of their minority shareholders for royalty payments of over 5% of consolidated net profits.
(Kotak Mahindra and associates are predominant shareholders in Business Standard Pvt Ltd)
(Kotak Mahindra and associates are predominant shareholders in Business Standard Pvt Ltd)