Corporate Governance Regulations

Compliance with NYSE Listing Standards on Corporate Governance

We are incorporated under the Companies Act and our equity shares are listed on the BSE Limited and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited, which are the major stock exchanges in India. Our corporate governance framework is in compliance with the Companies Act 2013 and rules made thereunder and the regulations and guidelines of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations 2015 (“SEBI Listing Regulations”). We also have American Depositary Shares (“ADSs”) listed on the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”).

Companies listed on the NYSE must comply with certain standards of corporate governance set forth in Section 303A of the NYSE’s Listed Company Manual. Listed companies that are foreign private issuers, as the term is defined in Rule 3b-4 under the Exchange Act, are permitted to follow home country practices in lieu of the provisions of this Section 303A, except that foreign private issuers are required to comply with the requirements of Sections 303A.06, 303A.11, 303A.12(b) and (c) and 303A.14 of the NYSE’s Listed Company Manual. As per these requirements, a foreign private issuer must:

Establish an independent audit committee that has specified responsibilities and authority. [NYSE Listed Company Manual Section 303A.06];

Provide prompt written notice by its CEO if any executive officer becomes aware of any non-compliance with any applicable corporate governance rules. [NYSE Listed Company Manual Section 303A.12(b)];

Provide to the NYSE annual written affirmations with respect to its corporate governance practices, and interim written affirmations in the event of a change to the board or a board committee. [NYSE Listed Company Manual Section 303A.12(c)];

Include a statement of significant differences between its corporate governance practices and those followed by United States companies in the annual report of the foreign private issuer. [NYSE Listed Company Manual Section 303A.11]; and

Adopt and comply with a written policy providing that the issuer will recover reasonably promptly the amount of erroneously awarded incentive-based compensation in the event that the issuer is required to prepare an accounting restatement due to the material noncompliance of the issuer with any financial reporting requirement under the securities laws. [NYSE Listed Company Manual Section 303A.14].

In a few cases, the Indian corporate governance rules under the SEBI Listing Regulations differ from those in the NYSE’s Listed Company Manual as summarized below. For information about the corporate governance requirements applicable to certain of our subsidiaries that are listed in India but not in the United States, see “Supervision and Regulation—II. Regulations Governing Insurance Companies—Functioning of Insurance Companies” and “Supervision and Regulation—III. Regulations Governing Mutual Funds—Other Regulations and Circulars—SEBI Master Circular for Mutual Funds—Enhancing fund governance for mutual funds”.

NYSE Corporate Governance Standards applicable to NYSE Listed Companies		Corporate Governance Rules as per SEBI Listing Regulations

An NYSE listed company needs to have a majority of independent directors. [NYSE Listed Company Manual Section 303A.01]		The board of a listed company must have a combination of executive and non-executive directors, including at least one female director, and not less than 50 percent of the board of directors shall comprise of non- executive directors. The board of directors of the top 1,000 listed entities are required to have at least one independent female director. No listed entity shall appoint a person or continue the directorship of any person as a non-executive director who has attained the age of 75 years unless a special resolution is passed to that effect, in which case the explanatory statement annexed to the notice for such motion shall indicate the justification for appointing such a person, provided that the company shall ensure compliance with this provision at the time of appointment or re-appointment or any time prior to the non-executive director attaining the age of 75 years. Further, the composition of the board must be as follows: (i) where the chairperson of the board of directors is a non-executive director, at least one-third of the board of directors must be comprised of independent directors and (ii) where the company does not have a regular non-executive chairperson, at least half of the board of directors must be comprised of independent directors, provided that where the regular non-executive chairperson is a promoter of the listed company or is related to any promoter or person occupying management positions at the level of board of director or at one level below the board of directors, at least half of the board of directors of the listed company must consist of independent directors. The requirements under the SEBI Listing Regulations which become applicable to a listed entity on the basis of market capitalization criteria are determined as follows: (i) Every recognized stock exchange, at the end of the calendar year, i.e., December 31, prepares a list of entities that have listed their specified securities, ranking such entities on the basis of their average market capitalization from July 1 to December 31 of that calendar year; (ii) the relevant provisions of the SEBI Listing Regulations become applicable to a listed entity that is required to comply with such requirements for the first time (or, if applicable, required to comply after any interim period) after a period of three months from December 31 (i.e., April 1) or from the beginning of the immediate next financial year, whichever is later; (iii) the listed entity must continue to comply with relevant provisions that were applicable to it based on the market capitalization of the previous year and continue to remain applicable on the basis of such entity’s rank in the list prepared by recognized stock exchanges as per clause (i) above.
A director must meet certain criteria in order to qualify as “independent,” as affirmatively determined by the Board. [NYSE Listed Company Manual Section 303A.02]		A director must meet certain criteria in order to qualify as an “independent director”. The appointment, reappointment or removal of an independent director of a listed entity, shall be subject to the approval of shareholders by way of a special resolution. No independent director who resigns from a listed entity shall be appointed as an executive or whole-time director on the board of the listed entity, its holding, subsidiary or associate company or on the board of a company belonging to its promoter group, unless a period of one year has elapsed from the date of resignation as an independent director.

Executive Sessions
Non-management directors need to meet at regularly scheduled executive sessions without management. [NYSE Listed Company Manual Section 303A.03]		The board of directors of a listed company must meet at least four times a financial year, with a maximum time gap of 120 days between any two consecutive meetings. The independent directors of the listed company must hold at least one meeting in each fiscal year without the presence of the non-independent directors and the members of management, and all the independent directors have to endeavor to be present at such meeting.

Nominating/Corporate Governance Committee
An NYSE listed company needs to have a nominating/corporate governance committee composed entirely of independent directors. [NYSE Listed Company Manual Section 303A.04]		A listed company needs to have a nomination and remuneration committee. The nomination and remuneration committee shall comprise of at least three directors and all directors must be non-executive directors with at least two-thirds of the directors being independent directors. Listed companies in India are not required to constitute a separate corporate governance committee. The Companies Act and the SEBI Listing Regulations prescribe the corporate governance requirements which include, inter alia, obligations regarding the appointment of internal auditors, the constitution of the board of directors as per the prescribed composition and the constitution of an audit committee and a nomination and remuneration committee.
The nominating/corporate governance committee needs to have a written charter that addresses certain specific committee purposes and responsibilities and provides for an annual performance evaluation of the committee. [NYSE Listed Company Manual Section 303A.04]		The nomination and remuneration committee must have the terms of reference specified in the SEBI Listing Regulations and the Companies Act such as formulating criteria to determine the qualifications, positive attributes and independence of directors, formulating criteria to evaluate the performance of directors, recommending to the board of directors a remuneration policy for directors, key managerial personnel and other employees and devising a policy on diversity of the board of directors.

Compensation Committee
An NYSE listed company needs to have a compensation committee composed entirely of independent directors. Compensation committee members must satisfy certain additional independence requirements set forth in Section 303A.02(a)(ii) of the NYSE Listed Company Manual. [NYSE Listed Company Manual Section 303A.05]		A listed company is permitted to have a combined nomination and remuneration committee. All members of the nomination and remuneration committee must be non-executive directors and at least two-thirds must be independent directors. The chairperson of the nomination and remuneration committee must be an independent director.
The compensation committee needs to have a written charter that addresses certain specific rights, purposes and responsibilities of the committee, and provides for an annual performance evaluation of the committee. [NYSE Listed Company Manual Section 303A.05] NYSE listed companies must adopt and enforce a clawback policy consistent with the requirements of NYSE Listed Company Manual Section 303A.14. [NYSE Listed Company Manual Section 303A.14]		The terms of reference and the role of the nomination and remuneration committee have been specified under the Companies Act and SEBI Listing Regulations and must include, inter alia, formulating the policy relating to the remuneration of directors, key managerial personnel and other employees, formulating criteria to determine the qualifications, positive attributes and independence of directors and formulating criteria to evaluate the performance of directors.

Audit Committee
An NYSE listed company needs to have an audit committee with at least three members. All the members of the audit committee must satisfy the independence requirements of Rule 10A-3 under the Exchange Act and the requirements of NYSE Corporate Governance Standard 303A.02. [NYSE Listed Company Manual Sections 303A.06 and 303A.07]		A listed company must have a qualified and independent audit committee with a minimum of three directors as members and at least two-thirds of such members must be independent directors. In case of a listed entity having outstanding equity shares with superior voting rights, the audit committee must consist of only independent directors. All members of the audit committee should be financially literate and at least one member must have accounting or related financial management expertise.
The audit committee needs to have a written charter that addresses certain specific purposes of the committee, provides for an annual performance evaluation of the committee and sets forth certain specific duties and responsibilities. [NYSE Listed Company Manual Section 303A.07]		The terms of reference and the role of the audit committee of a listed company have been specified in the SEBI Listing Regulations and the Companies Act and include, inter alia, oversight of the listed company’s financial reporting process and disclosure of its financial information to ensure that such information is correct, sufficient and credible, the recommendation for appointment and remuneration of the auditors of the listed company, and the review of the auditor’s independence and performance.

Internal Audit Function
An NYSE listed company needs to have an internal audit function to provide management and the audit committee with ongoing assessments of the company’s risk management processes and system of internal control. A company may choose to outsource this function to a third-party service provider other than its independent auditor. [NYSE Listed Company Manual Section 303A.07]		A listed company must appoint an internal auditor to conduct an internal audit of the functions and activities of the company. The auditor must review the accounts of the company and submit a report along with financial statements of the company placed before the company in a general meeting. It is the role of the audit committee to review the adequacy of the company’s internal audit function and all internal audit reports relating to internal control weaknesses of the company. The audit committee should also evaluate the internal financial controls and risk management systems of the company. In addition, a listed company must put in place procedures to inform board members about risk assessment and minimization procedures. The board of directors is responsible for framing, implementing and monitoring the company’s risk assessment plan. Further, the top 1000 listed companies and companies qualifying as a “high value debt listed entity” must establish a risk management committee, consisting of at least three members with a majority of them being board members including at least one independent director, and, in case of a listed entity having outstanding equity shares with superior voting rights, at least two-thirds of the risk management committee shall comprise independent directors. The board of directors shall define the roles and responsibilities of the risk management committee. The board may delegate the monitoring and review of the risk management plan to the risk management committee.

Shareholder Approval of Equity Compensation Plans
Shareholders must be given the opportunity to vote on all equity- compensation plans and material revisions thereto, with limited exemptions. [NYSE Listed Company Manual Section 303A.08]		Under the SEBI (Share Based Employee Benefits and Sweat Equity) Regulations, 2021, shareholders’ approval is required for all equity compensation plans and material revisions thereto.

Corporate Governance Guidelines/Code of Ethics
An NYSE listed company needs to adopt and disclose corporate governance guidelines. [NYSE Listed Company Manual Section 303A.09]		A listed company is required to comply with all mandatory corporate governance requirements as prescribed under the Companies Act and the SEBI Listing Regulations, and disclose such compliance to stock exchanges in the corporate governance report contained in the listed company’s annual report. The listed company should also state in its annual report the extent to which it has complied with the non- mandatory corporate governance requirements. The listed entity is also required to submit a compliance report on corporate governance on a quarterly basis.
An NYSE listed company needs to adopt and disclose a code of business conduct and ethics for directors, officers and employees, and promptly disclose any waivers of the code for directors or executive officers. [NYSE Listed Company Manual Section 303A.10]		A listed company needs to adopt a code of conduct (or code of ethics), which is applicable to all members of the board of directors and senior management. The company’s annual report and the yearly compliance report on corporate governance must both disclose any non-compliance with any requirement of the compliance report on corporate governance and contain a declaration signed by the CEO stating that all board members and senior management personnel have complied with the code of conduct.

Certifications as to Compliance
The CEO of each NYSE listed company has to certify on an annual basis that he or she is not aware of any violation by the company of the NYSE corporate governance listing standards. [NYSE Listed Company Manual Section 303A.12]		The CEO and the CFO are required to provide an annual certification on the true and fair view of the company’s financial statements and compliance with existing accounting standards, applicable laws and regulations. In addition, a listed company is required to submit a quarterly compliance report and an annual corporate governance report to stock exchanges which must include a certificate from either the auditors or the practicing company secretary regarding the company’s compliance with the conditions of corporate governance. A listed company is also required to submit a secretarial compliance report to stock exchanges annually. With effect from April 1, 2025, such secretarial compliance report should be signed only by the secretarial auditor or by a peer reviewed company secretary who satisfies the conditions laid down in the SEBI Listing Regulations.

Posting of Charters and Guidelines on Website
An NYSE listed company is required to post the charters of its audit, compensation, and nominating/corporate governance committees, its corporate governance guidelines, and its code of business conduct and ethics on the company’s website, and to state in its proxy statement or annual report that these documents are so posted. The listed company’s website address must be included in such postings. [NYSE Listed Company Manual Sections 303A.04, 303A.05, 303A.07, 303A.09 and 303A.10]		A listed company must maintain a functional website containing information about the company including, inter alia, information regarding the composition of various board committees, the company’s code of conduct, details of certain policies, a copy of its annual report and contact information.

Corporate Governance Regulations

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