Evaluating boards of directors of public-sector companies in India: An empirical study of India's Navratna companies

✍ Scribed by S. L. Gupta; B. S. Hothi; Abhishek Gupta

• Publisher: Wiley (John Wiley & Sons)
• Year: 2011
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 90 KB
• Volume: 30
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1932-2054
• DOI: 10.1002/joe.20377

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

The Navratna companies are a group of Indian public‐sector enterprises to which the Indian government has given a measure of financial and operational autonomy that allows them to make investments without the need to seek government approval. Evaluations of the operation of the board of directors of the Navratna companies are, at times, complex and confidential. This can make studying, analyzing, and evaluating them a difficult task. This research is based on a survey of the board of directors in nine Navratna companies: Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL), Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL), and Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL). The results of our survey provide the basis for the evaluation of the operation of the board of directors of Navratna companies. They also indicate that the board of directors should not involve itself in the day‐to‐day functioning of the organization and that governance of such companies involves more than simply ensuring returns in the short term. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.