INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS-ARE THEY REALLY INDEPENDENT?

Indian cos' independent directors not 'independent': Report
Most of the key takeaways of the Prime Database report are in the form a few revealing statistics The report says there are 6,643 independent directors in India operating on the boards of 2,213 listed companies A report by Prime Database has further highlighted some stark realities of the independent director. CNBC-TV18�s Ashwin Mohan analyses the report. Here is a verbatim transcript of Ashwin Mohan�s exclusive interview on CNBC-TV18. Also watch the accompanying video. Most of the key takeaways of the Prime Database report are in the form a few revealing statistics. The report says there are 6,643 independent directors in India operating on the boards of 2,213 listed companies, the interesting point being representation of women. Only 2.5% of these independent directors are women. Education-wise, the report says 198 of these Independent directors are non graduates, out of which a staggering 75% haven�t even gone beyond schooling. The report also indicates 3,500 of these independent directors are only graduates. Age background The report says there seem to be lot of youngsters as independent directors including some 18-year-olds too. 245 independent directors are below the age of 35 and 20 of them are below the age of 25. Monetary compensation With regards to monetary compensation, each appearance of an independent director at a board meeting or a committee meeting can fetch up to Rs 20,000. Also according to the law, 1% of the profits are to be distributed amongst them and there is no limit on the grant of employee stock options (ESOPs) for independent directors. 'Not independent' The report says when it comes to categorization, about 75% fall into the category of home directors. Home directors are natural allies of the promoters of the companies. They comprise of relatives, friends and neighbours and the report says they are not independent in any sense.