Women directors: Erring firms to face minimum Rs 50,000 fine

Mumbai, April 8 

Acting against listed firms without a mandatory woman director, SEBI today announced a minimum Rs 50,000 fine on them and warned of further action, including against promoters and directors, if they remain non-compliant beyond six months.

Without naming the companies that failed to appoint at least one woman director within the stipulated deadline of March 31, SEBI announced a four-stage penalty structure wherein fines would increase with the passage of time.

While some experts opined that the fine is very small and PSUs being in non-compliance might have been at play, officials said that the non-complaint firms were mostly small ones and SEBI has decided to take an "accommodative" stance.

SEBI had warned of "serious consequences" for non-compliance, but a large number of companies, including many state-run firms, actually failed to meet the deadline.

As per data compiled by Prime Database, as many as 32 public sector firms have failed to comply and they include GAIL, ONGC, NTPC, SAIL, PNB, Bharat Electronics, BPCL, Container Corp, Power Finance Corp and Rural Electrification Corporation.

SEBI has asked the stock exchanges to levy the fines as the violation relates to the Listing Agreement. — PTI