Excellence Enablers Survey Finds 16 Nifty 100 Firms Flout Independent Director Rules In FY25

According to Business Standard, the number of Nifty 100 companies failing to meet the minimum Independent Director requirements increased to 16 in FY25, up from 11 in FY24, as per the Excellence Enablers corporate governance survey. Of these 16 companies, 11 were public sector units (PSUs), including three public sector banks. The survey also found that within this group, five PSUs had no Independent Directors at all.

The survey also highlighted gender diversity, noting that eight companies had no women independent directors, while 39 had two or more. It emphasised the separation of the Board Chairperson and MD/CEO roles, but 37 companies continued to combine them. Other governance risks included succession planning gaps, inadequate human resource management, cybersecurity incidents, and business ethics issues. The report also noted improvements in Director attendance and the number of board meetings held annually.