The listed companies’ boards of directors have least number of IAS officers now, ever since new regulations were introduced in 2013. According to the data shared by corporate tracker primeinfobase.com., currently, 466 IAS officials have a seat on the board. Number of civil servants as independent directors is fewer still at 346.
The government rolled out the Companies Act in 2013. It placed higher liabilities on company directors over companies’ non-compliance with the law.
It said that independent directors and non-executive directors were at par with others, even though they may be at an information disadvantage.
Amit Tandon, founder and managing director of Institutional Investor Advisory Services India (IiAS), said it could indicate a larger shift away from generalists to specialists. “As business is getting more complex, you need people with domain expertise,” he said.
