Panel under Adi Godrej to suggest corporate governance policy

The government today set up a Committee headed by Godrej Group chairman Adi Godrej to suggest a frame work for the "highest quality" of corporate governance in the country.

The Committee will suggest a "comprehensive policy frame work to enable corporate governance of the highest quality in all classes of companies without impinging on their internal autonomy to order their affairs in their best judgement," Corporate Affairs Ministry said in a statement.

The Committee is expected to make its recommendations on 'National Corporate Governance Policy' within six months from the date of its first meeting.

Other members of the committee are: Kiran Mazumdar Shaw ( Biocon Ltd), Sidharth Birla (FICCI), M K Chauhan (Asian Centre for Corporate Governance & Sustainability) and R S Sharma (former MD, ONGC).

G Ramaswamy, (former President, ICAI), Deosthali (L&T), S Balasubramaniyan, (former chairman, Company Law Board), S K Rungta (ex-CMD, SAIL), K K Mistry (CFO, L&T), Ziya Modi ( lawyer) and Sudhir Mittal (Additional Secretary in the ministry) are also its members.

In addition there will be nominees from CII, Assocham and the ICAI. The President of The Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) is the Member Secretary and Convener of the Committee.

The Committee will hold consultations with stakeholders in the corporate sector, academics and public before finalising its recommendations.

In December last year, the government had said it was considering issuing new corporate governance guidelines by including good practices like tax compliance, to companies for voluntary adoption.

The voluntary guidelines for good corporate governance issued in 2009 does not include tax compliance.