Question

Discuss the role of International Benchmarking on the working of Companies in India.

Answer 1

Asia: Independent Directors are a requirement for listed companies in all Asian economies, where most require at least l/3rd of the Board to be independent.

USA: The Council of Institutional Investors (CII), Corporate Governance Policies state that at least 2/3rd of the directors should be independent.

Europe: European Commission urges member states to have a sufficient number of independent npn-executive or supervisory directors on Board.

G20/OECD: The latest principles encourage the prominent role of independent Board members.

Japan: In early. 2014, the Japanese Prime Minister announced the goal of increasing the percentage of women in executive positions at Japanese companies to 30% by 2020.

UK: UK businesses had voluntary targets first set in 2011 i.e. to have 25% women on FTSE 100 (The Financial Times Stock Exchange) Boards by 2015.

Canada: At the Federal level, two bills are currently being tabled which will impose a 40% quota for female Board members of public companies and other regulated entities such as banks and insurance companies.

Brazil: A bill pending in the Brazilian Senate would impose a 40% female quota on the Boards of state-owned enterprises by 2022.

France: French parliament adopted a bill that requires public companies making at least 50 million Euros in turnover and employing more than 500 workers to have 40% female Board representation by 2017.