'State support system must for corporate governance'

The states should provide the basic support system for effective corporate governance as corporate entities are major economic agents, said D Chanda, chief general manager, Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).

He was speaking at a workshop on corporate governance organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry in association with Sebi and Crisil in Ahmedabad on Saturday.

The workshop was aimed at creating awareness on corporate governance.

"The corporate sector is primarily for wealth creation and Sebi's primary responsibility is to ensure disclosure standard, an effective online trading system, a reliable and effective enforcement and high standards of governance." Chanda said.

Inaugurating the workshop, Hasmukh Adhiya, additional principal secretary to the chief minister of Gujarat, said, "Corporate governance is not new to Gujarat. The trusteeship concept was introduced by Mahatma Gandhi. The primary objective of governance, may it be a corporate or the government, is to strike a balance between the shareholders' interest and the stakeholders' interest. The relevance of governance in the government is in dealing with various groups to serve and maximise the interest of public. That could be achieved through bringing in greater transparency in the functioning of the government at all levels."

He highlighted some of the initiatives taken by the government to bring in greater efficacy by organising training programmes for all levels of employees joining government to re-orient and update them with the current scenario and how to deal with the changing environment.

"Training programmes are also organised for political leaders, bureaucrats and employees for corporations. To deal with the current issues, a professional agency has been appointed. It will take the feedback from employees on a monthly basis to formulate strategy and an action plan to provide solutions to them to bring about better governance." Adhiya said.

Pankaj Patel, managing director, Zydus Cadila Healthcare, said "Corporate governance is based upon trust. It takes care of the stakeholders, brings in transparency at all levels, demands accountability of the board and integrity as the core value. There is no short cut to implement and adopt the model for corporate governance. It enhances value of the company and the stake holders."