Royal Chemicals Limited (RCL), a company listed with National Stock Exchange (NSE) is having 60% market share in paint manufacture industry. It also deals in petrochemicals, which are used in numerous household products

CS Professional · Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Principles and Practice · PYQS · December 2024
Royal Chemicals Limited (RCL), a company listed with National Stock Exchange (NSE) is having 60% market share in paint manufacture industry. It also deals in petrochemicals, which are used in numerous household products like wax, detergents, dyes, carpeting, safety glasses, etc. RCL is one among the top 1000 companies listed on NSE. As per the latest audited financial statements as on March 31, 2024, its paid-up capital stood at ₹300 crore against its authorized Capital of ₹500 crore and it had a revenue of ₹2,250 crore. RCL has thirteen Directors on its Board, of which five were independent directors. The Articles of Association of the Company restricts the maximum number of Directors to fifteen. RCL remains ever-conscious to corporate governance and ensures compliance with the statutory and legal provisions in both letter and spirit. Roya, an executive director, is chairperson of the Company and Minu is the only woman Director. The Company has constituted requisite committees as per the requirements of Companies Act, 2013 and SEBI LODR. The Audit Committee consists of five Directors as members—Aman, Jatin, Rohan, Keyn and Jitu. Among the five independent directors, Rohan was reappointed on August 1, 2019 after completing his term of 5 years. His efficient performance was ranked first in the performance evaluation carried out as per SEBI guidelines. To recognise the outstanding results towards the Company's growth, the Board wanted to reappoint Rohan for the third term. The Board also sought Company Secretary's opinion in this regard. The Company had successfully concluded its Annual General Meeting (AGM) for the financial year ending March 31, 2024, on May 25, 2025, at its registered office at Pune. On the fateful day of AGM, while returning to Mumbai from Pune by road, after her re-appointment at AGM, a fatal accident claimed the life of Minu, thus snatching an efficient and trustworthy Director from the Company. Later on, a Board Meeting was held on August 9, 2024 and Neeru, a finance professional and daughter of deceased director Minu, was appointed as Director to fill the vacancy of woman director. RCL is a growing company which wants to diversify its business into the sphere of agrochemicals and therefore, desires to bring on its Board Ojas, who is a chemical engineer with hands-on experience of about twenty years post his qualification in the field of agrochemicals and other petroleum products. Besides production, he is well versed in marketing of agrochemicals, both in India and abroad. It is hoped that he shall prove to be a valuable asset to the Company. Accordingly, in the Board Meeting held on August 9, 2024, Ojas was appointed as an additional Director. Ojas already held directorships in one dormant company, two Section 8 companies, eight public limited companies and nine private limited companies. However, out of nine private limited companies, two are subsidiaries of public limited companies. Based on the above facts, answer the following questions: Do you think RCL's Board Composition is as per SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Regulations) Regulations, 2015? Also narrate the suggested Board Size as per NSE and Proxy Advisory Guidelines.

Answer & Explanation:

Composition of the Board of Directors - Regulation 17(1)(a) of SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015 The composition of board of directors of the listed entity shall be as follows: Board of directors shall have an optimum combination of executive and non-executive directors with at least one-woman director and not less than fifty per cent of the board of directors shall comprise of non-executive directors; Provided that the Board of directors of the top 1000 listed entities shall have at least one independent woman director. Number of Independent Directors where the Chairperson is a non-executive-Regulation 17(1)(b) of SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015 Where the chairperson of the board of directors is a non-executive director, at least one-third of the board of directors shall comprise of independent directors and where the listed entity does not have a regular non-executive chairperson, at least half of the board of directors shall comprise of independent directors: Provided that where the regular non-executive chairperson is a promoter of the listed entity or is related to any promoter or person occupying management positions at the level of board of director or at one level below the board of directors, at least half of the board of directors of the listed entity shall consist of independent directors. Explanation: For the purpose of this clause, the expression "related to any promoter" shall have the following meaning: if the promoter is a listed entity, its directors other than the independent directors, its employees or its nominees shall be deemed to be related to it; if the promoter is an unlisted entity, its directors, its employees or its nominees shall be deemed to be related to it. Minimum number of directors in certain class of listed companies Regulation 17(1)(c) of SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015 The board of directors of 2000 listed entities shall comprise of not less than six directors. Explanation: The top 1000 and 2000 entities shall be determined on the basis of market capitalization as at the end of the immediate previous financial year. In the current scenario, RCL should have minimum seven independent directors (since the Chairperson is an Executive Director) and one women independent director on the Board. So, the present Board Composition of RCL is not valid according to the above Regulation. Suggested Board Size as per NSE and Proxy Advisory Guidelines (a) Additional requirements for NSE Prime Companies regarding Board Composition The Board of Directors shall consist of a minimum of 8 Directors. The Chairperson of the Board of Directors shall not be a Relative of the Managing Director or Chief Executive Officer. Where the public shareholding is in excess of 50%, more than half of the Board of Directors shall comprise Independent Directors; Where the public shareholding is 50% or less, at least half of the Board of Directors shall comprise of Independent Directors; With effect from July 01, 2025, at least 2 Directors shall be women, with at least one such Woman Director also being an Independent Director. (b) Preferable board size as per Proxy Advisory Guidelines: between 6 to 15

Topics: Corporate Governance

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