The ‘Independent Directors Repository Portal’ was made operational by CS Sridharan R, President of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India, and CMA Dr A S Durga Prasad, President, Institute of Cost Accountants of India, on August 11 at the ICSI-SIRC House, Chennai.
Marking the occasion, CS Dr Baiju Ramachandran, Chairman, ICSI, welcomed the dignitaries and members. CA K Raghu, President, Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, congratulated the ICSI and ICAI-CMA and members through a tele conference.
In his address, Dr Prasad complemented the ICSI for bringing all the three professional bodies together for a common cause. He added that the professionals should know the responsibilities vested in Independent Directors under the Companies Act of 2013.
In CS Sridharan R thanked the other two professional bodies for joining hands with ICSI for the initiative. He explained that this was one of the many initiatives proposed by the institute. He also spoke on the key managerial personnel and secretarial audit. He explained about the Independent Directors and said that women professionals could play a dual role of both woman director and independent director.
He also advised the professionals not to look at the remuneration and concentrate more on what they can contribute as they will be heading important committees such as the CSR committee and the stake holders’ committee. Sarah Arokiaswamy, Regional Director, ICSI-SIRO, made a presentation on how to register with the portal.
The meeting concluded with a vote of thanks by Dr Baiju Ramachandran, Chairman of the ICSI-SIRC.
Section 150 of the Companies Act, 2013, provides for the creation and maintenance of database of Independent Directors. The three professional institutes under the active encouragement of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India have taken a joint initiative and developed this portal. The portal will facilitate individuals who are eligible and willing to act as independent directors. The portal is now operational and its URl is: http://independent director.in<http://independent director.in/login.aspx