Code of Confederation of Indian Industries, 1998

According to the code, corporate governance refers to an economic, legal and institutional
environment that allows companies to diversify, grow, restructure and exit and it’s necessary to
maximize long term shareholders value. The code has provided as follows:
1. Board of directors & meetings:
Board of directors should meet at least six times a year, and each meetings should have agenda
items that require at least half a day's discussion.
2. Companies turnover
A company with a turnover of rs.100 Croce and above should have professionally competent,
independent, non-executive directors.
3. Attendance record of a director:
Attendance record of a director should be given a consideration while reappointing directors. If a
director fails to attend 50% of the meetings it should be stated in the resolution.
4. Board of directors tenure:
No individual directors should hold more than 10 directorship in listed companies.
5. Non-executive director’s role:
Non-executive directors should play a material role in the corporate decision making, they should
have clearly defined responsibilities within the board such as audit committee and expertise to read
financial statements.
6. Listed companies criteria:
Listed companies with a turnover of over Rs 100 corer or a paid up capital of Rs 20 corer & should
set up audit committees of at least three members.
7. Desirable disclosure:
Under additional shareholders information, listed companies should give data on:
High & low monthly average of share prices in a major stock exchange where the company is
listed.
8. Other key information:
 Of any joint venture or collaboration agreement.
 Annual operating plans & budgets together with updated information.
 Capital budgets, manpower and overhead budgets.
 Quarterly results for the company as a whole.
 Details Transaction that involve toward goodwill, brand equity or intellectual property.
 Recruitment & remuneration of senior officers just below board level including
appointment or removal of CEO & CS.
 Labour problems & their proposed solutions.
 Quarterly details of foreign exchange exposure & the steps taken by management.

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 Kumar Mangalam Birla Committee (2000)

Another committee named as -K. M. Birla Committee was set up by SEBI in the year 2000. In
fact, this Committee's recommendation culminated in the introduction of Clause 49 of the Listing
Agreement to be complied with by all listed companies.
Practically, most of the recommendations were accepted and included by SEBI in its new Clause
49 of the Listing Agreement in 2000.
The main recommendations of the Committee are:
1. Composition of Board –
The Board should have an optimum combination of Executive and Non-Executive
Directors with not less than 50 per cent of the Board consisting of non-executive Directors.
Further, in the case of Non-executive Chairman, at least one-third of the Board should
consist of independent directors and in the case of an executive Chairman, at least half of
the Board should consist of independent directors
2. Membership of Board Committees –
No Director shall be a member in more than ten Committees or Chairman of more than
five Committees across all companies in which he is Director.
3. Audit Committee-
Board should set up a qualified and independent Audit Committee to enhance the
credibility of financial disclosures and to promote transparency.
4. Remuneration Committee –
Corporate Governance section of the Annual Report should make disclosures about
remuneration paid to Directors in all forms including salary, benefits, bonuses, stock
options, pension and other fixed as well as performance linked incentives.
5. Shareholders/Investors' Grievance Committee of Directors –
The Board should set up a Committee to specifically look into share-holder issues including
share transfers and redressal of shareholders' complaints
6. General Body Meetings –
Details of last three AGMs should be furnished.
7. Disclosures –
Details of non-compliance by the company including penalties and strictures imposed by
the Stock Exchanges, SEBI or any statutory authority on any matter related to capital
markets during the last three years must be disclosed to the shareholders.
8. Means of communication -
Half-yearly report to be sent to each household of shareholders, details of the mode of
dissemination of quarterly results and presentations made to institutional investors to be
disclosed and statement of Management Discussion and Analysis to be included in the
report.
9. General shareholder information –
Various specified matters of interest to be included in the Annual Report.
10. Auditor's Certificate on Corporate Governance-

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 There should be an Auditor's certificate on corporate governance in the Annual Report as
an annexure to the Director's Report.
11. Shareholders to use the General Body Meetings for ensuring that the company is being
properly stewarded for maximizing the interests of the shareholders
12. Shareholders to show greater degree of interest and involvement in the appointment of
directors and the auditors
13. Shareholders to have the right to participate in and be sufficiently informed about decisions
relating to fundamental corporate changes.
14. Companies to send all shareholders the half yearly declaration of financial performance
including summary of the significant events in the last six months.
15. The Institutional shareholders tout to good use their voting power.
Annexure 4 of the recommendations suggested a list of following items to be included in the
report on corporate governance in the annual report of companies:
(a) A brief statement on company's philosophy on code of governance.

(b)Board of Directors
(i) Composition and category of directors, e.g. promoter, executive, non-executive,
independent non-executive, nominee director, which institution represented as lender or as
equity investor,
(ii) Attendance of each director at the board meetings and the last AGM
(iii) Number of board meetings held, dates on which held

(c) Audit Committee

(i) Brief description of terms of reference
(ii) Composition, name of members and chairperson,
(iii) Meetings and attendance during the year.

(d) Remuneration Committee

(i) Brief description of terms of reference,
(ii) Composition, name of members and chairperson,
(iii) Attendance during the year,
(iv) Remuneration policy,
(v) Details of remuneration to all the directors.

(e) Shareholders Committee

(i) name of non-executive director heading the committee,
(ii) Name and designation of compliance officer,
(iii) Number of shareholders' complaints received so far,
(iv) Number not solved to the satisfaction of shareholders,
(v) Number of pending share transfers.

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(f) General Body Meetings
(i) Location and timing where last 3 (three) AGMs held,
(ii) Whether special resolutions:
(a) Were put through postal ballot last year, details of voting pattern,
(b) Person who conducted the postal ballot exercise,
(c) Are proposed to be conducted through postal ballot,
(d) Procedure for postal ballot.

(g) Disclosures
(i) disclosures on materially significant related party transactions, i.e. transactions of the
company of material nature, with its promoters, the directors or the management, their
subsidiaries or relatives, etc. that may have potential conflict with the interests of company
at large,
(ii) Details of non-compliance by the company, penalties, strictures imposed on the
company by stock exchange or SEBI or any statutory authority, on any matter related to
capital markets, during the last 3 years.

(h) Means of Communication

(i) half-yearly report sent to each household shareholders,
(ii) Quarterly results:
(a) Which newspapers normally published in,
(b) Any website, where displayed,
(c) Whether it also displays official news releases, and
(d) The presentations made to institutional investors or to the analysts,
(iii)Whether MDA is a part of annual report or not

(I) General Shareholder Information

(i) AGM: date, time and venue,
(ii) Financial calendar,
(iii) Date of book closure,
(iv) Dividend payment date,
(v) Listing on stock exchanges,
(vi) Stock code,
(vii) Market price data: high, low during each month in last financial year
(viii) Performance in comparison to broad-based indices such as BSE Sensex; CRISIL
Index, etc.
(ix) Registrar and transfer agents,
(x) Share transfer system,
(xi) Distribution on shareholding,
(xii) Dematerialisation of shares and liquidity,

4
 (xiii) Outstanding GDRs/ADRs/Warrants or any convertible instruments, conversion date
and likely impact on equity,
(xiv) Plant locations,
(xv) Address for correspondence.

Reserve bank of India (RBI) report of the advisory group on corporate

governance (2001):

As advisory group on corporate governance under the chairmanship of Dr. R.H.Patil, then
Managing Director, National Stock Exchange was constituted by a standing committee of RBI in
2000 for evolving sound standard based on recognized best practices and for adopting transparency
while adhering to the codes. They submitted their report in March 2001.
The term of reference of the advisory group are;
● To study the present status of applicability, relevance and compliance in India of the
relevant standards and codes;
● To review the feasibility of compliance and the time frame within which this can be
achieved;
● To compare the level of adherence in India;
● To chalk out a course of action for achieving best practices and;
● To help sensities the public opinion on these matters through its reports.
The group adopted the OECD principles of corporate governance as the main benchmark for
comparing the extend of compliance by the Indian corporate entities.
The group has relied on;
a) A combined code of LSE
b) The Cadbury report
c) Greenbury report and
d) The blue committee report, on improving the effectiveness of corporate governance.

The report conducted several recommendations on corporate governance to be applicable to all

companies, especially the Public Sector Banks (PSBs) and Public Sector Enterprise (PSEs) as
follows;

1) The responsibility of a company as also the bank board should be clearly defined to include
the key functions;
a) Reviewing and guiding corporate strategy, risk policy, annual budgets and business plans,
setting performance objectives, monitoring corporate performance and overseeing major
and capital requirements and acquisitions.
b) Selecting, monitoring and compensating all key executives.
c) Reviewing key executives and board remuneration.

5
 d) Monitoring and managing potential conflicts of interest of management, board members
and shareholders.
e) Ensuring the integrity of company's accounting and financial reporting systems.
f) Monitoring the effectiveness of the governance practices.
g) Overseeing the process of disclosure and communication.

2) The board of companies, including PSE’s should be accountable to the owners of the companies.
However; they should respect the contractual obligations to the stakeholders, such as employee’s
creditors, supplier, customers and environmental impact of the operations of the companies.

3) In order to fulfil their responsibility board members should have access to accurate, relevant
and timely information. They should be free to acquire, at the expenses of the company,
independent professional advice regarding the company affairs.

4) Independent and executive director of the companies should be appointed on the board based
on the recommendations of nominal committee comprising the independent directors of the board.
The committee should adopt clear and transparent criteria for selection of independent directors.
The criteria for choosing non-executive directors should be disclosed.

5) All listed companies should have minimum 8 board’s members so as to have

professional/experts from different disciplines. Companies including PSE’s with net worth of ₹150
million or more should have at least 10 directors of which at least 5 should independent directors.
All banks should have minimum of 10 board directors.

6) The board members should be considered independent of they have no relationship to the
company they may interfere with the exercise of their independence from management and the
company. They should be identified in the annual report.

7) Only experts having financial and technical or legal knowledge or specialization in the area of
operation of the company, should be appointed to the board. The training on board practices should
imparted to the elected members at the cost of the company.

8) In case of all companies, the maximum limit for director serving on multiple boards should be
10.
The same director all not be a member of too many committees (preferably not more than 5 or 6
committees).

9) If the CEO is also the chairman of the board, minimum 50% of the board members should be
independent. If is preferably to separate the role of CEO from the chairman of the board. The

6
chairman should be independent, objective, ethical and experience to manage the diversities
among shareholders, stakeholders and management.

10) The term limits for independent directors may preferably be up to 10 year at a stretch.

11) All companies must ideally follow the maximum age limit upto 65 years for the whole-time
directors and 75 years for part-time directors.

12) The board of the large companies and banks should meet at least six time a year. Through
suitable provisions in the Companies Act, attending of board meetings through voice conferencing
facilities should be recognised as valid attendance.

13) The lability of the non-executive director should be limited. They should not be held
responsible for the matters not disclosed to the board by the executive directors. The main
responsibility and liability thereof in respect of all statutory complained should solely rest with the
CEO/MD.

14) The extend of compliance with governance requirements should be disclosed in the 'director
report’ of all companies.

N.R. NARAYANA MURTHY COMMITTEE (2003)

SEBI constituted this committee under chairmanship of N.R. Narayana Murthy, Chairman and
Mentor of Infosys, and mandated the Committee to review the performance of corporate
governance in INDIA and make appropriate recommendations.
The committee submitted its report in February 2003.

1. Role of audit committee.

All audit committee members shall be non-executive directors. They should be financially
literate and at least 1 member should have accounting or related financial management
expertise. (The term ‘financial literate’ means the ability of a person to read and understand
basic financial statements, i.e., balance sheet, profit and loss account, and statement of cash
flows.

Audit committees of publicly listed companies should review the following information;
(a) Financial statements and draft audit report, including quarterly/half-yearly financial
information.
(b) Management discussion and analysis of financial condition and operating results,
(c) Risk management reports and compliance,
(d) Statutory / internal auditors letter to management regarding internal control weaknesses,
and,

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(e) Records of related party transactions.
The appointment, removal and terms of remuneration of chief internal auditor must be subject
to review by the audit committee.

2. Risk Management
Procedures should be in place for informing the Board about the risk management and
minimization procedures. These procedures should be periodically reviewed to ensure that
executive management controls risk through means of a properly defined framework.
For every quarter the management should place before the entire Board, a statement
documenting the business risks faced by the company, measures taken to address and minimize
the risks, and any limitations to the risk taking capacity of the corporation. This document
should be formally approved by the Board.

3. Proceeds from the Initial Public Offerings

Company raising money through an initial public offering (IPO) shall be disclosed to the audit
committee, the uses or application of the funds by major category ( capital expenditure, sales
and marketing, working capital, etc.), on the quarterly basis.
On an annual basis, the company, the company shall prepare a statement of funds utilized for
the purposes other than those stated in the offer document / prospectus.
This statement should be certified by independent auditors of the company. The audit
committee should make appropriate recommendations to take steps in this regard.

4. Code of Conduct for the Board.

It should be obligatory for the Board ton lay down a code of conduct for the Board members
and the senior management of the company.
This code of conduct shall be posted on the website of the company. All Board members and
the senior management personnel shall affirm compliance with the code on an annual basis.
The annual report of the company should contain a declaration to this effect signed by CEO
and CFO.

5. Nominee Directors.
There should not be any nominee director. Where an institution wishes to appoint a director on
the Board, such appointment shall be made by the shareholders.
An institutional director so appointed shall have the same liabilities as any other director.
The same shall also apply to nominees of Government on board of public sector companies.

6. Independent Director.
A director to become independent shall satisfy the various conditions laid down by the
committee. He is a non-executive director of the company who:

8
 (a) Apart from receiving director remuneration, does not have any material pecuniary
relationships or transactions with the company, its promoters, its senior management
or its holding company, its subsidiaries and associated companies;
(b) Is not related to promoters or management at the board level or at one level below
the board;
(c) Has not been an executive of the company in the immediately preceding 3 financial
years;
(d) Is not a partner or an executive of the statutory audit firm or the internal audit firm
that is associated with the company, and has not been a partner r an executive of any
such firm for the last 3 years.
(e) Is not a supplier, service provider or customer of the company. This should include
lessor-lessee type relationships also; and
(f) Is not a substantial shareholder of the company, i.e. owning 2% or more of the voting
shares block.

7. Audit Qualifications.
Companies should be encouraged to move towards regime of unqualified financial statements.

8. Training of Board Members.

Companies should be encouraged to train their Board members in the business model of the
company as well as its risk profile, their responsibilities as directors and the best way to
discharge them.

9. Non-executive director’s compensation.

Board may fix the compensation paid to the NEDs which should be approved by the
shareholders in the annual general meetings. Limits should be set for the maximum number of
stock options that may be granted to NEDs in any financial year.
The stick options granted to NEDs shall be vest after a period of at least one year from the date
of retirement of such director from the Board of the company.
Companies should publish their compensation philosophy and statement of entitled
compensation in respect of non-executive directors in their annual report.

10. Whistle blower policy.

Companies should annually affirm that they have not denied any personnel access to the audit
committee and that it has provided protection to whistle blowers from unfair termination or
prejudicial employment practices.

11. Analysis ‘Reports- Disclosure in reports issued by Security Analysts.

SEBI should make rules for disclosure in the report issued by a security analysts whether the
company that is being written about is a client of the analyst’s employer or an associate of
analyst’s employer and the nature of service rendered to such company, if any.

9
 Naresh Chandra committee on corporate Audit and Governance

The committee was appointed in August 2002 to analyse and recommended changes in diverse
areas as mentioned below:
 The procedures for appointment of auditors and determination of audit fees;
 Restriction, if any, on non-audit fees;
 Independence of auditing functions;
 Measures needed to ensure that the management and companies actually present "true
and fair" statement of the financial affairs of the company;

The committee submitted its report in December 2003. Following are its recommendations:
Auditor- company Relationship - The propriety of auditors rendering non- audit services needs to
be carefully dealt with keeping in view the twin objective of maintaining auditor's independence
and ensuring that the client get the benefits of efficient high quality services. An auditor who
depends on a single audit client for a sizeable portion of annual revenue, risks comprising his
independence

1. Disqualification for audit assignment

 Prohibition of receiving any loans/ or guarantees from or on behalf of audit client by the
audit firm, its partners or any member of engagement team and their 'direct relatives'.
 Prohibition on any business relationship with the audit client by the auditing firm.
 Prohibition on personal relationships which would exclude any partner of the audit firm or
member of the engagement team being 'relative' of any ' key officer ' of the client company
such as WTD, CEO,CFO,CS, top management, officer in default as defined in section 5 of
the companies Act, 1956.

2. List of prohibited non-audit services- Following services should not be provided by an audit
firm to any audit client:
 Accounting and book-keeping services related to the accounting records or financial
statements of the audit client
 Internal audit service
 Financial information systems design and implementation
 Actuarial service

3.Independence Standards for Consulting and Other entities that are affiliated to Audit
Firms -No more than 25% of the revenue of the consolidated entity should come from a single
corporate client with whom there is also an audit engagement.

4. Auditors disclosure of qualifications and consequent action

 The audit firm may read out the qualification with explanation to shareholders in the
company's AGM

10
  The auditor must send a copy of the qualified report to the ROC, SEBI and the principal
stock exchanges with the copy of the letter to the management.

5. Auditors disclosure of contingent liabilities –

The management should provide a clear description of each material liability and its risks which
should be followed by auditors clearly,

6. Annual certification of independence of auditors –

Before agreeing to be appointed, the audit firm must submit a certification of independence to the
Audit Committee or the Board of the client company certifying that together with its consulting
and specialised services, affiliates, subsidiaries and associated companies:
 Are independent and have arm’s length relation with the client company;
 Not have engaged in any non-audit services;

7. Appointment of Auditors –
The Audit Committee of the Board shall be the first reference point regarding the appointment of
the auditor
The Audit committee shall:
 Discuss the annual work programme with the auditor;
 Review the independence of audit firms;

8. Definition of an Independent Director

He is an independent director who:
 Has not been an executive of the company in the last three years;
 Is not a significant supplier, vendor or customer of the company;
 Is not related to promoters or management at the board level or one level below the board;

9. Minimum Board size of listed companies, unlisted companies having PUC of Rs. 10 crore and
above, or turnover of Rs. 50 crore and above, should be seven, of which four should be independent
directors.
10. Disclosures about timing and duration of board/committee meetings of listed and unlisted
public companies with PUC of Rs, 10 crore/turnover of Rs. 50 crore and above.

J.J. IRANI COMMITTEE (2005)

The J.J. Irani Committee was constituted by the government of India in December 2004 to evaluate
the comments and suggestions received on concept paper and to provide recommendations to the
government in making a simplified modern law. The committee submitted the report to the
government in May 2005, which is under consideration till date.

11
FEATURES OF ITS RECOMMENDATIONS
1. The (new) company law should provide for minimum number of directors necessary for
various classes of companies. The present requirement of minimum 3 directors is considered
adequate. There need not be any limit to the maximum numbers of directors in a company.
This should be decided by the companies or by its articles of association. Every company
should have at least 1 director resident in India.
2. Both the managing director as also the whole time directors should not be appointed for more
than 5 years at a time.
3. No age limit need to be prescribed in the law. There should be adequate disclosure of age of
the directors in the company’s documents. In case of public company, appointment of directors
beyond a prescribed age 70 year should be subject to a special resolution passed by
shareholders.
4. The appointment of independent directors should be made by the companies from among the
persons with integrity, possessing, relevant expertise and experience and who satisfy the above
criteria for independence.
5. An independent director should make a self-declaration at the time of appointment and at the
time of change in his status that he satisfies the legal conditions for being an independent
director. Board should disclose in the director’s report that independent directors have given
self-declaration and that also in the judgement of the board they are independent.
6. A non-executive/independent director should be held liable only in respect of any
contravention of any provisions of the Act, which had taken place with his knowledge and
where he is not acted diligently, or with his consent. If the independent directors does not
initiate any action upon knowledge of any wrong, such directors should be held liable.
7. Independents directors/non-executive directors should have the right to a) carry upon the board
for due diligence or obtain records for seeking professional opinion by the board, b) inspect
records of the company, c) review legal compliance reports prepared by the company, d) in
case of disagreement, records their dissent in the minutes.
8. There should be specific executive development training programs aimed at developing the
awareness levels for board level appointees.
9. Companies should adopt remuneration policies that attract and maintain talented and motivated
directors and employees for enhanced performance. However, this should be transparent and
based on principles that ensure fairness, reasonableness and accountability. There should be a
clear relationship between responsibility and performance.
10. The issue of remuneration and its decision need not be taken by the government on behalf of
the company but should be left to its shareholders whose approval should necessarily be taken.
11. There need not be any limit prescribed to sitting fees payable to non-executive directors
including independent directors. The company with the approval of shareholders may decide
on remuneration in the form of sitting fees and/or profit related commission payable to such
directors for attending board and committee meetings.
12. There should be a requirement of disclosure of director’s background, education, training and
qualifications, as well as relationships with managers and shareholders.
13. The requirement of the Companies Act, 1956 to hold a board meeting every 3 months and at
least 4 meetings in a year should be continue. The gap between two meetings should not exceed

12
 4 months. Meetings of the board by electronic means that is teleconferencing, and
videoconferencing should be allowed and directors who participate through electronic means
should be counted for attendance and form part of quorum.
14. Notice of every board meeting should be given in advance (say a period of 7 days) to ensure
participation by maximum number of directors. Meetings at short notice should be held only
to transact emergency business and at least 1 director should be present in order to ensure well
decision are taken.
15. Majority of the directors of the audit committee should be independent directors if the company
is required to appoint independent directors. Chairman of the committee should be
independent.
16. The rights of minority shareholders should be protected during general meetings of the
company.
17. The information to the shareholders could also be made available through other means like
print, electronic media, company websites etc.
18. Appointment of auditors should be made by shareholders considering the recommendation of
the board after obtaining the recommendation of the audit committee.
19. Auditors are required to carry out their work with highest standards of excellence and
independent within the discipline of the legal provisions and the accounting standards. Non-
compliance with such standards should invite stringent penalties to be prescribed in the rules.
20. Public listed companies should be required to have a regime of internal financial controls for
their own observance. Internal controls should be certified by the CEO and CFO of the
company and mentioned in the director’s report.
21. Every director should disclose to the company on his directorships and shareholdings in the
company and in other companies. He should also disclose to the company, the contracts or
arrangements with the company in which he has any interest or concern directly or indirectly.
In case of failure to make disclosures, the concerned director should be held liable to penalties
and he should be deemed to have vacated the office.
22. There is a need for regulators to monitor the end use of funds collected from the public.
23. Credit rating would be a good evaluation mechanism and its wide use would be generally
beneficial. However, there is no need to mandate credit rating by law except for companies
accepting public deposits.
24. In addition to CEO, CFO and CS equally important would be the role of qualified professionals
such as the accountant, auditor, lawyer, providing corporate advice. Such individuals should
be held liable for wrong decision if it can be established that they have specifically advised
against actions or behavior violate of the law.
25. The committee recognizes the whistle blower concept by enabling protection to individuals
who expose offences by companies, particularly those involving fraud.

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 CASE STUDY ON ITC LTD.

Introduction
CG and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) have become buzzwords in the post millennium
corporate culture of India. This case describes the CG and CSR practices of the ITC Ltd. ITC Ltd
is one of the very few Indian companies which does not have an identified promoter and is fully
managed by professionals (Though, a foreign company has around 32% stakes in the company, it
is not identified as a promoter as it does not control the company).

Approach to corporate governance

ITC official believes and propagates ‘commitment beyond the market’. It is also one of the
pioneers to put in place a formalized system of Corporate Governance. ITC defines CG as a
systematic process by which companies are directed and controlled in order to enhance their wealth
generating capacity. This definition reminds one of Milton Friedman who says that businessman
should concentrate only on profits and nothing more. However, that is not the case. ITC also
believes that the growth process should ensure that these resources are utilized in manner which
meets the stakeholder’s aspirations and societal expectations. What the company calls as the
development of the ‘triple bottom line’ includes the nurture and regeneration of nation’s economic,
ecological and social capital. ITC official believes and propagates ‘commitment beyond the
market’. It is also one of the pioneers to put in place a formalized system of Corporate Governance.
ITC defines CG as a systematic process by which companies are directed and controlled in order
to enhance their wealth generating capacity. This definition reminds one of Milton Friedman who
says that businessman should concentrate only on profits and nothing more. However, that is not
the case. ITC also believes that the growth process should ensure that these resources are utilized
in manner which meets the stakeholder’s aspirations and societal expectations. What the company
calls as the development of the ‘triple bottom line’ includes the nurture and regeneration of nation’s
economic, ecological and social capital.

Governance structure and practices

ITC has three-tier governance which includes strategic supervision by the BOD, strategic
management by the corporate management committee and executive management by the
divisional/ SBU chief executives. Looking at the board composition one can find that ITC has a
blend of executive and non-executive directors that include independent professionals. Executive
directors including the chairman do not generally exceed one third of the total strength of the board.
One third of the directors retires by rotation every year and are eligible for re-election. There does
not seem to be any separate position of a managing director in the company.

Meetings and attendance

The ITC’s policy requires the board to meet at least six times a year. The intervening period
between two board meetings is always within the three months period in line with the Clause 49

14
of the listing agreement. Board meetings at ITC are structured by the members, in consultation
with the chairman, may raise any matter for board’s consideration. Agenda papers are generally
made available seven working days prior to the meeting of the board. The information placed
before the board is the normal mix of statutory and voluntary matter.

Board committees
ITC currently has four board committees—the audit committee, the compensation committee, the
investor committee and the nominations committee. The terms of reference of the board
committees are typically fixed by the board from time to time. Meetings are convened by the
chairman and signed minutes are placed before the board. A look at some of these committees are
as follows: The audit committee of the board reassures the board that a proper internal control
mechanism is in force. The audit committee is empowered to investigate any activity that falls
within its terms of reference and seek any information from any employee.
There is the remuneration committee called the compensation committee and this committee
recommends to the board the compensation terms of executive directors. The compensation
committee consists of five non-executive directors of whom three are independent directors and
the chairman of the committee is a non-executive independent directors, the remuneration is
largely market led.
Then, there is the nominations committee which makes recommendations on appointment to the
board, corporate management committee and the senior most level appointment to the board,
corporate management committee and the senior most level of executive management one level
below the board. The nomination committee comprise of the chairman and all the non-executive
directors of the company. The chairman of the company is also the chairman of this strategic
management and comprises of all the executive directors and three or four senior member for the
management. The ITC code of professional conduct has been replaced by the ITC code of conduct.

REFERENCE BOOKS

 CORPORATE GOVERNANCE –

CODES, SYSTEMS, STANDARDS AND PRACTICES

BY: SUBHASH CHANDRA DAS

 CORPORATE GOVERNANCE –

GLOBAL CONCEPTS AND PRACTICES

BY: - DR S SINGH

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