Oil PSUs Penalised For Delay In Appointing Independent Directors And Woman Director

The BSE and the NSE have fined large public-sector oil companies for not meeting the norms regarding Directors appointments on their respective Boards. ONGC, HPCL, MRPL, GAIL, and Oil India were fined for not appointing the required number of Independent Directors on their Boards. Indian Oil, on the other hand, doesn’t have a Woman Independent Director. The companies have been asked to pay Rs 5,42,800 each. The penalties have been imposed for the third straight quarter.

In their response, companies have reiterated their stance that Board appointments are made by the government (Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas), and the companies’ management or the boards have no role to play.