25% directors on board of companies are women: Govt

All listed firms are required to have at least one woman director on their boards from April 1, 2015, according to Sebi

About 25 per cent of the directors on the board of companies are women, Parliament was informed on Tuesday.

All listed firms are required to have at least one woman director on their boards from April 1, 2015, according to a Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) directive, as also under the Companies Act, 2013.

This is aimed at increasing gender diversity, which is often seen to have a positive impact on the decision making processes of corporate boards.

"As per the information extracted from MCA 21 Registry, as on March 31, 2017, 25.01 per cent of the directors on the board of companies are women directors," Minister of State for Corporate Affairs P P Chaudhary said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

Further, he said the government and Sebi have not prescribed any target for companies to have at least 20 per cent women on the board of companies by the year 2020.