Infosys chief to head panel on corporate governance

MUMBAI: The Securities and Exchange Board of India has appointed Infosys chairman and chief mentor N R Narayana Murthy as the head of its committee on corporate governance (CG) which has been set up to review implementation of the CG code by listed companies.
Mr Murthy has replaced former Sebi board member J R Verma as the head of the committee. Sebi has recently expanded the panel with some new members. The committee would study the implementation of the CG code and recommend changes to improve practices, sources added.
Sebi chairman G N Bajpai, speaking at a roundtable on corporate governance organised by the World Bank, said rating agencies Crisil and Icra were developing a model and methodolgy of CG rating and would make a presentation to the panel shortly.
Sebi has suggested to the agencies that they should incorporate parameters for assessing wealth sharing behaviour of corporates in the model, Mr Bajpai said.
The overall compliance with CG norms was satisfactory and stringent disclosure requirements had helped to prevent corporates and managements from indulging in insider trading, he added.
Managements had a responsibility to act as a trustee for the investors’ wealth and share returns with stakeholders, he added. Mr Bajpai said transparency in operations, increased disclosure of financial and non-financial information and effective contribution by independent directors would improve CG practices.
Just as a rating of financial instruments and the company’s financial health were closely linked, the market valuation of corporates was influenced by quality of CG practices, he added.