Women Directors: Get Ready To Face The Music, Sebi Tells India Inc

Nearly 500 companies announced such appointments in the last two days -- March 30 and March 31 -- while over 100 firms made such announcements on April 1. Besides, close to 50 companies have announced the appointments after April 1, although they have stated that the women directors were appointed with effect from March 31 or before.

The biggest concern for the regulator is the fact that some large state-run giants lagged behind in having at least one female member on their boards.

All listed companies were required to have at least one woman director on their boards April 1 onwards, as per a new Sebi directive, as also under the Companies Act, 2013.

The firms have been warned of "serious consequences", including hefty penalties for non-compliance. Sources said Sebi has sought a compliance status report from the stock exchanges and would take a call accordingly.

An extended weekend soon after the expiry of deadline -- due to holidays on Thursday and Friday -- came as a respite to the non-compliant companies but the regulator and the exchanges may begin penal action tomorrow onwards, they added.

The companies without a woman director may face penal action under the Sebi regulations, as also under the Companies Act, including monetary fines. While Sebi norms provide for penalty of up to 25 crore, the penalty under the Companies Act can be from 5,000 to 5 lakh.

A few companies have already written to the exchanges and Sebi about change in the name, saying that there were some mistakes in their earlier regulatory filing about the appointment.

Also Read: States To Gain " border="0" height="11" src="file:///C:UsersAkhilaAppDataLocalTempmsohtmlclip11clip_image001.jpg" width="10" />3.35 Lakh Crore On Coal Auctions
Cadbury Excise Duty Evasion: Over " border="0" height="11" src="file:///C:UsersAkhilaAppDataLocalTempmsohtmlclip11clip_image001.jpg" width="10" />570 Crore Demand Against Confectionary Giant