Fortune India Boardroom: Corporate governance, the way forward  

Improving corporate governance has been a crucial item on the government’s agenda. From implementing the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) and setting up the Kotak Committee to planning examinations for becoming independent directors of companies, the government has taken several steps to lift governance standards in India Inc.

In light of these efforts, Fortune India brought together four leaders from the world of business to discuss the changing role of the board in the new corporate governance landscape as part of the first edition of Fortune India Boardroom. During the nearly 2-hour-long discussion held in Mumbai on Friday, VIP Industries chairman Dilip Piramal, Standard Chartered India CEO Zarin Daruwala, former SEBI executive director and SES managing director J.N. Gupta, Metropolis Healthcare managing director Ameera Shah, discussed the lessons that India must learn from past mistakes and the road ahead for improved corporate governance standards.

Piramal pointed out that corporate governance has come a long way, but more needs to be done. “There was no minority shareholder protection earlier. But the reforms implemented through the 1990s brought about the change,” he said.

He then added that while companies need to be regulated, too much regulation is detrimental to the growth of companies. “The market is the best place to reward or punish the management of a company,” he said.