All men so far, Sebi board set to see diversity

Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) wants to improve gender diversity on its nine-member board. The regulator has asked the finance ministry to replace two of its board members, Prashant Saran and Rajeev Kumar Agarwal, who would complete their term this year, with at least one full-time woman member.

So far, Sebi hasn't had a woman on its board. While the finance ministry responded positively to Sebi's request and almost zeroed in on a Delhi-based woman lawyer for the job, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) is said to have sought wider search for a more suitable candidate, according to a highly-placed source.

Even though the PMO has in-principle approved of Sebi's push for gender equality, it has asked the finance ministry to broaden the search and issue a public notification in this regard. After this, the ministry is said to have scuttled the previous proposal and started selection process afresh.

By the source, government advertisements inviting applications for the post of full-time members or executive directors at Sebi don't mention sex of the candidate. The ministry has the powers - under Section 4(1)(d) of the SEBI Act, 1992 - to appoint three whole-time members to the nine-member board, including the chairman. In order to ensure that a woman member is appointed, the notification will have to be amended so that the selection process is confined to only women candidates. For this, the finance ministry may need to get the process vetted by the law ministry.

Sebi Chairman U K Sinha has often chastised listed companies for not having enough women on their boards.

The Companies Act, as amended in 2013, states that every company with a paid-up share capital of Rs 100 crore or more shall appoint at least one woman director on its board. As the regulator for the listed companies, Sebi's effort to have a woman its board sits well with the larger push to encourage more women on corporate boards. Interestingly, the Reserve Bank of India has had several women as deputy governors but not Sebi.