Section 149 of The Companies Act, 2013

Board of Directors.

17. (1) The  of the listed entity shall be as follows:

(a) board of directors shall have an optimum combination of executive and non-executive directors with at least one woman director and not less than fifty percent. of the board of directors shall comprise of non-executive directors;

the Board of directors of the top 500 listed entities shall have at least one independent woman director by April 1, 2019 and the Board of directors of the top 1000 listed entities shall have at least one independent woman director by April 1, 2020;

The top 500 and 1000 entities shall be determined on the basis of market capitalisation, as at the end of the immediate previous financial year.

(b)     where the chairperson of the board of directors is a non-executive director, at least one-third of the board of directors shall comprise of independent directors and where the listed entity does not have a regular non-executive chairperson, at least half of the board of directors shall comprise of independent directors:

Provided that where the regular non-executive chairperson is a promoter of the listed entity or is related to any promoter or person occupying management positions at the level of board of director or at one level below the board of directors, at least half of the board of directors of the listed entity shall consist of independent directors.

Explanation.-For the purpose of this clause, the expression “related to any promoter” shall have the following meaning:

(i)    if the promoter is a listed entity, its directors other than the independent directors, its employees or its nominees shall be deemed to be related to it;

(ii)  if the promoter is an unlisted entity, its directors, its employees or its nominees shall be deemed to be related to it.

The board of directors of the top 1000 listed entities (with effect from April 1, 2019) and the top 2000 listed entities (with effect from April 1, 2020) shall comprise of not less than six directors.

Explanation: The top 1000 and 2000 entities shall be determined on the basis of market capitalisation as at the end of the immediate previous financial year.

where the listed company has outstanding SR equity shares, atleast half of the board of directors shall comprise of independent directors.

No listed entity a person or continue the directorship of any person as a non-executive director who has attained the age of seventy five years unless a special resolution is passed to that effect, in which case the explanatory statement annexed to the notice for such motion shall indicate the justification for appointing such a person. With effect from April 1,  2020, the top 500 listed entities shall ensure that the Chairperson of the board of such listed entity shall –

(a) be a non-executive director;

(b) not be related to the Managing Director or the Chief Executive Officer as per the definition of the term “relative” defined under the Companies Act, 2013:

Provided that this sub-regulation shall not be applicable to the listed entities which do not have any identifiable promoters as per the shareholding pattern filed with stock exchanges.

Explanation – The top 500 entities shall be determined on the basis of market capitalisation, as at the end of the immediate previous financial year.

The listed entity shall ensure that approval of shareholders for appointment of a person on the Board of Directors or  is taken at the next general meeting or within a time period of three months from the date of appointment, whichever is earlier.

that a public sector company shall ensure that the approval of the shareholders for appointment or re-appointment of a person on the Board of Directors or as a Manager is taken at the next general meeting:”

further that the appointment or a re-appointment of a person, including as a managing director or a whole-time director or a manager, who was earlier rejected by the shareholders at a general meeting, shall be done only with the prior approval of the shareholders:

that the statement referred to under sub-section (1) of section 102 of the Companies Act, 2013, annexed to the notice to the shareholders, for considering the appointment or re-appointment of such a person earlier rejected by the shareholders shall contain a detailed explanation and justification by the Nomination and Remuneration Committee and the Board of directors for recommending such a person for appointment or re-appointment.

 With effect from April 1, 2024, the continuation of a director serving on the board of directors of a listed entity shall be subject to the approval by the shareholders in a general meeting at least once in every five years from the date of their appointment or reappointment, as the case may be:

Provided that the continuation of the director serving on the board of directors of a listed entity as on March 31, 2024, without the approval of the shareholders for the last five years or more shall be subject to the approval of shareholders in the first general meeting to be held after March 31, 2024:

Provided further that the requirement specified in this regulation shall not be applicable to the Whole-Time Director, Managing Director, Manager, Independent Director or a Director retiring as per the sub-section (6) of section 152 of the Companies Act, 2013, if the approval of the shareholders for the reappointment or continuation of the aforesaid directors or Manager is otherwise provided for by the provisions of these regulations or the Companies Act, 2013 and has been complied with:

Provided further that the requirement specified in this regulation shall not be applicable to the director appointed pursuant to the order of a Court or a Tribunal or to a nominee director of the Government on the board of a listed entity, other than a public sector company, or to a nominee director of a financial sector regulator on the board of a listed entity:

Provided further that the requirement specified in this regulation shall not be applicable to a director nominated by a financial institution registered with or regulated by the Reserve Bank of India under a lending arrangement in its normal course of business or nominated by a Debenture Trustee registered with the Board under a subscription agreement for the debentures issued by the listed entity.

Any vacancy in the office of a director shall be filled by the listed entity at the earliest and in any case not later than three months from the date such vacancy:

Provided that if the listed entity becomes non-compliant with the requirement under sub-regulation (1) of this regulation, due to expiration of the term of office of any director, the resulting vacancy shall be filled by the listed entity not later than the date such office is vacated:

Provided further that this sub-regulation shall not apply if the listed entity fulfils the requirement under sub-regulation (1) of this regulation without filling the vacancy

(2)  The board of directors at least four times a year, with a maximum time gap of between any two meetings.

The quorum for every meeting of the board of directors of the top 1000 listed entities with effect from April 1, 2019 and of the top 2000 listed entities with effect from April 1, 2020 of its total strength or three directors, whichever is higher, including at least one independent director;

Explanation I – For removal of doubts, it is clarified that the participation of the directors by video conferencing or by other audio-visual means shall also be counted for the purposes of such quorum.

Explanation II – The top 1000 and 2000 entities shall be determined on the basis of market capitalisation, as at the end of the immediate previous financial year.

(3)   The board of directors shall periodically review compliance reports pertaining to all laws applicable to the listed entity, prepared by the listed entity as well as steps taken by the listed entity to rectify instances of non-compliances.

(4)   The board of directors of the listed entity shall satisfy itself that plans are in place for orderly succession for appointment to the board of directors and senior management.

(5) (a) The board of directors shall lay down a code of conduct for all members of board of directors and senior management of the listed entity.

(b)   The code of conduct shall suitably incorporate the duties of independent directors as laid down in the Companies Act, 2013.

(6) (a) The board of directors shall recommend all fees or compensation, if any, paid to non-executive directors, including independent directors and shall require approval of shareholders in general meeting.

(b)The requirement of obtaining approval of shareholders in general meeting shall not apply to payment of sitting fees to non-executive directors, if made within the limits prescribed under the Companies Act, 2013 for payment of sitting fees without approval of the Central Government.

(c) The approval of shareholders mentioned in clause (a), shall specify the limits for the maximum number of stock options that may be granted to non-executive directors, in any financial year and in aggregate.

The approval of shareholders by special resolution shall be obtained every year, in which the annual remuneration payable to a single non-executive director exceeds fifty per cent of the total annual remuneration payable to all non-executive directors, giving details of the remuneration thereof.

(d)Independent directors shall not be entitled to any stock option.

The fees or compensation payable to executive directors who are promoters or members of the promoter group, shall be subject to the approval of the shareholders by special resolution in general meeting, if-

(i) the annual remuneration payable to such executive director exceeds rupees 5 crore or 2.5 per cent of the net profits of the listed entity, whichever is higher; or

(ii) where there is more than one such director, the aggregate annual remuneration to such directors exceeds 5 per cent of the net profits of the listed entity:

Provided that the approval of the shareholders under this provision shall be valid only till the expiry of the term of such director.

Explanation: For the purposes of this clause, net profits shall be calculated as per section 198 of the Companies Act, 2013.

(7) The minimum information to be placed before the board of directors is specified in

(8) The chief executive officer and the chief financial officer shall provide the compliance certificate to the board of directors as specified in

(9) (a) The listed entity shall lay down procedures to inform members of board of directors about risk assessment and minimization procedures.

(b) The board of directors shall be responsible for framing, implementing and monitoring the risk management plan for the listed entity.

 The evaluation of independent directors shall be done by the entire board of directors which shall include –

(a) performance of the directors; and

(b) fulfillment of the independence criteria as specified in these regulations and their independence from the management:

Provided that in the above evaluation, the directors who are subject to evaluation shall not participate.

(10) The of independent directors shall be done by the entire board of directors:

Provided that in the above evaluation the directors who are subject to evaluation shall not participate:

The statement to be annexed to the notice as referred to in sub-section (1) of section 102 of the Companies Act, 2013 for each item of special business to be transacted at a general meeting shall also set forth clearly the recommendation of the board to the shareholders on each of the specific items.

The directors of listed entities shall comply with the following conditions with respect to the maximum number of directorships, including any alternate directorships that can be held by them at any point of time –

(1) A person shall not be a director in more than eight listed entities with effect from April 1, 2019 and in not more than seven listed entities with effect from April 1, 2020:

Provided that a person shall not serve as an independent director in more than seven listed entities.

(2) Notwithstanding the above, any person who is serving as a whole time director / managing director in any listed entity shall serve as an independent director in not more than three listed entities.

– For the purpose of this sub-regulation, the count for the number of listed entities on which a person is a director / independent director shall be only those whose equity shares are listed on a stock exchange.

SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) (Amendment) Regulations, 2018 dated 09.05.2018

SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) (Amendment) Regulations, 2020 dated 10.01.2020

SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) (Amendment) Regulations, 2022 dated 24.01.2022

SEBI (LISTING OBLIGATIONS AND DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS) (SECOND AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS, 2022 dated 22th March, 2022

SEBI Corrigendum dated 06.08.2021

SEBI Notification dated 14.06.2023 regarding SEBI (LODR) (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2023

SEBI Notification dated 17.01.2023 regarding SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) (Amendment) Regulation, 2023.

Securities and Exchange Board of India (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2021 dated 05.05.2021

Securities and Exchange Board of India (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) (Third Amendment) Regulations, 2021 dated 03.08.2021

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) (Fourth Amendment) Regulations, 2019 dated 29.07.2019

Circular dated 19.03.2020 regarding relaxation from compliance with certain provisions of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015 due to the CoVID -19 virus pandemic

NSE Circular on enforcement of SEBI Orders regarding appointment of Directors by the listed companies dated 20.06.2018

SEBI Circular on Further relaxations from compliance with certain provisions of LODR and the SEBI circular dated January 22, 2020 relating to SOP due to the CoVID -19 virus pandemic dated 26.03.2020

SEBI Circular on non-compliance with certain provisions of the SEBI LODR and the Standard Operating Procedure for suspension and revocation of trading of specified securities dated 22.01.2020

SEBI Circular regarding relaxation of time gap between two board / Audit Committee meetings of listed entities owing to the CoVID-19 pandemic dated 26.06.2020

SEBI Circular SEBI/HO/CFD/CMD/CIR/P/2017/004 dated 05/01/2017

LODR – SCHEDULE II Part A

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

PART A: MINIMUM INFORMATION TO BE PLACED BEFORE BOARD OF DIRECTORS 

[See Regulation 17(7)]

A. Annual operating plans and budgets and any updates.

B. Capital budgets and any updates.

C. Quarterly results for the listed entity and its operating divisions or business segments.

D. Minutes of meetings of audit committee and other committees of the board of directors.

E. The information on recruitment and remuneration of senior officers just below the level of board of directors, including appointment or removal of Chief Financial Officer and the Company Secretary.

F. Show cause, demand, prosecution notices and penalty notices, which are materially important.

G. Fatal or serious accidents, dangerous occurrences, any material effluent or pollution problems.

H. Any material default in financial obligations to and by the listed entity, or substantial non-payment for goods sold by the listed entity.

I. Any issue, which involves possible public or product liability claims of substantial nature, including any judgement or order which, may have passed strictures on the conduct of the listed entity or taken an adverse view regarding another enterprise that may have negative implications on the listed entity.

J. Details of any joint venture or collaboration agreement.

K. Transactions that involve substantial payment towards goodwill, brand equity, or intellectual property.

L. Significant labour problems and their proposed solutions. Any significant development in Human Resources/ Industrial Relations front like signing of wage agreement, implementation of Voluntary Retirement Scheme etc.

M. Sale of investments, subsidiaries, assets which are material in nature and not in normal course of business.

N. Quarterly details of foreign exchange exposures and the steps taken by management to limit the risks of adverse exchange rate movement, if material.

O. Non-compliance of any regulatory, statutory or listing requirements and shareholders service such as non-payment of dividend, delay in share transfer etc.

LODR – SCHEDULE II Part B

PART B: COMPLIANCE CERTIFICATE 
[See Regulation 17(8)]

The following compliance certificate shall be furnished by chief executive officer and chief financial officer:

A. They have reviewed financial statements and the cash flow statement for the year and that to the best of their knowledge and belief:

(1) these statements do not contain any materially untrue statement or omit any material fact or contain statements that might be misleading;

(2) these statements together present a true and fair view of the listed entity’s affairs and are in compliance with existing accounting standards, applicable laws and regulations.

B. There are, to the best of their knowledge and belief, no transactions entered into by the listed entity during the year which are fraudulent, illegal or violative of the listed entity’s code of conduct.

C. They accept responsibility for establishing and maintaining internal controls for financial reporting and that they have evaluated the effectiveness of internal control systems of the listed entity pertaining to financial reporting and they have disclosed to the auditors and the audit committee, deficiencies in the design or operation of such internal controls, if any, of which they are aware and the steps they have taken or propose to take to rectify these deficiencies.

D. They have indicated to the auditors and the Audit committee

(1) significant changes in internal control over financial reporting during the year;

(2) significant changes in accounting policies during the year and that the same have been disclosed in the notes to the financial statements; and

(3) instances of significant fraud of which they have become aware and the involvement therein, if any, of the management or an employee having a significant role in the listed entity’s internal control system over financial reporting.