4,558 listed companies comply with Sebi's woman director norms

New Delhi: As many as 4,558 listed companies have complied with markets regulator Sebi's norms of having at least one woman director on board.

All listed firms were required to have at least one woman director on their boards from April 1, 2015, as per a Sebi directive, as also under the Companies Act, 2013. These rules are aimed at ensuring gender diversity in boardrooms.

As many as 4,192 and 1,721 companies are listed on the BSE and NSE, respectively. Of this, 923 firms have been suspended by the BSE while the count for the NSE is 138. This means 3,269 companies are active on the BSE and 1,583 on the NSE.

Of these active companies, 3,028 BSE-listed entities and 1,530-NSE listed ones have appointed a woman director on board as on December 31, 2016, Minister of State for Finance Arjun Ram Meghwal said in a reply to the Lok Sabha.

"Sebi has been seeking compliance status with regard to appointment of women directors on the boards of listed companies from the stock exchanges on a regular basis due to which 92.63 per cent and 96.65 per cent of the active companies on the BSE and NSE, respectively, are in compliance with this requirement," he added.

About steps taken to ensure compliance with its direction by listed entities, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) announced a four-stage penalty structure wherein fines will increase with passage of time.

The listed companies that comply with the norms between April 1 and June 30, 2015, will have to pay Rs 50,000 as fine. Those complying between July 1 and September 30 will need to pay Rs 50,000, besides Rs 1,000 per day till compliance.

The listed firms complying on or after October 1, 2015, will have to pay Rs 1.42 lakh, plus Rs 5,000 per day till the date of compliance.

For any non-compliance beyond September 30, 2015, the regulator may take any other action against the non-compliant entities, their promoters and/or directors or issue such directions in accordance with law as considered appropriate.