The Hub serves you on a monthly basis with dedicated sections on continued professional learning and helps you to emerge as the “Agents for Change” in corporate boards. The featured stories across various sections would cover regulatory updates, corporate actions and experience sharing by Independent Directors.

Setting orients you about the IICA’s capacity building initiatives taken during the COVID-19 by conducting a series of Virtual Master Class. The latest master class on “Early Warning Signs and Red Flags for Independent Directors” was conducted with an aim to orient the Independent Directors with early warning signs and red flags based on financial statements in order to equip them in the effective discharge of their roles and responsibilities in the boards and also during the crisis times.

Vignettes showcase powerful views and learning from experienced stalwarts or reputed research institutions in the form of a study, write up or a report. This edition of the newsletter presents the excerpts from a leadership survey, conducted by the search firm Odgers Berndtson and Harvard Business Review Analytic Services, titled “Why companies are facing the crisis of confidence in leadership”.

Regulatory Worktop shares the key updates about recent measures taken by the Regulators for facilitating the corporate sector during the COVID-19 crisis. The present issue features the measures taken by SEBI on additional Relaxations in relation to compliance with SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015 in view of COVID-19 Pandemic; Relaxation from the applicability of SEBI Circular dated October 10, 2017 on Minimum Public Shareholding (MPS) requirements and Advisory on disclosure of the material impact of COVID-19 pandemic on listed entities under SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015.

The coverage also includes the measures taken by MCA with the issue of Circular on holding of annual general meeting (AGM) through video conferencing (VC) or other audio visual means (OAVM) and also Circular on dispatch of notice under section 62(2) of the Companies Act, 2013 by listed companies for right issue opening upto 31^st July, 2020.

The issue also briefs about the suspension of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) by the Government for 1 year.

Regulators Eye has placed focus on the key updates relating to resolution by Wadia Group with SEBI with regard to non-disclosure of the arrest of its promoter and imposition of penalty of Rs 30 lakh on Company Insiders of Bajaj Auto Ltd. The coverage of focus spans across other updates too relating to the payment of penalty by six entities of Rs. 1.5 crore to SEBI for settling fraudulent share case; banning of Finalysis Credit & Guarantee Co. Ltd and 13 other entities by SEBI for defrauding public shareholders and the red-flags on multiple breaches of RBI's norms in the YES Bank case in FY20.

Some other important updates as viewed by the section includes settling of insider trading case with SEBI by Aurobindo Pharma and its Promoters; surging of informal board meetings during COVID-19; GST officials seeking information about directors remuneration and the glimpse of the RIL mega issue putting SEBI's 'rights entitlement' platform to test.

The last section discusses an important indicator for corporate governance landscape ESG (environmental, social, and governance) indices have performed better than other benchmarks.

Events Expo acquaints about various national and global upcoming events, programs, workshops, conferences, etc. The section features important Virtual Events for participation and converting the COVID crisis to a learning opportunity. The key virtual events of interest to Independent Directors could be Master class on Corporate Fraud Control During COVID-19, 12^th June 2020 to be organized by The Economic Times and workshop on “Introduction to Technologies for Fraud Analytics” 22-25^th, June 2020 to be organized by The Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT).

At the global front, we are presenting IMD’s webinar on “Five Reflection Themes for Leaders”, 12^th June 2020 and The IOD-New Zealand’s virtual session on “Climate change – your risks and opportunities”, 17^th June 2020.