The Institute of Company Secretaries of India- Eastern Indian Regional
Council (ICSI -EIRC) observed 2nd ICSI CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
WEEK by organising a full day
seminar on the Theme ‘Good Governance For Sustainability’ at Hotel Park,
Kolkata. The 2nd ICSI CORPORATE GOVERNANCE WEEK is being
observed across the country from August 27th to August 31st
2012. The idea behind the ICSI Corporate Governance
Week is to create awareness, propagate the best practices of Corporate
Governance and mainstream corporate responsibility in the social fabric.
Shri Amlesh Bandopadhyay, Member (Technical), Company Law Board, Kolkata
graced
the occasion as the Chief Guest at the Inagural session of the seminar. He in
his address to the august gathering said that Indian GDP has grown in a fast
paced manner during the last decade and this growth is due to good Corporate
Governance. He said due to good Corporate Governance, corporates’ are growing
and economy is booming. He also pointed out that for a business the foremost
aim should not be profit maximisation but sustainability. He advised the
younger members of the profession that professional integrity is a must for
being a successful professional and to ensure that the rule of law is
implemented in letter and spirit. He also stressed that Company Secretaries
being governance professionals, should report to the regulators in case of any
anomalies in the business. He also appreciated the institute’s effort of
conducting and organising this type of programs. He also released a publication
of the Institute titled “Role of Company Secretary in Corporate Governance” .
CS Ranjeet Kanodia,Chairman,ICSI
in his inaugural address said that the ICSI is celebrating the CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
WEEK for the second time He spoke on the various initiatives taken by
ICSI to improve standards of Corporate Governance like setting up of ICSI CCGRT
(Centre For Corporate Governance, Research and Training) in
Navi Mumbai to foster and nurture research activites ,setting up of ICSI
National Award for Excellence in Corporate Governance to recognise and promote
good Corporate Governance among good companies, conducting Investor Awareness
Programs, Post Membership Qualification in Corporate Governance etc. He said
that Corporate Governance means transparency, accountability and following fair
business practices and good Corporate Governance builds confidence among people
about corporates. He also said that sustainability is an important part of
business. He then said that Company
Secretaries ,over a period of time, have developed themselves as professionals
having core competence in Corporate Governance.
CS Arun
Khandelia,Vice-Chairman,ICSI EIRC in the introduction to the theme of the
program pointed out thai Its ICSI’s vision to be a global leader in promoting
good Corporate Governance. He said that Governance is about taking decisions and
implementing them and good Corporate Governance is a must for better business.
He also said that the seminar is aimed for creating awareness and to propagate the practices of Corporate Governance and the
speakers in todays seminar will emphasise on the essence of Corporate Governance
which lies in integrity,transparency and accounatability. He also said that
sustainability is there where good
corporate governace practices are followed.
CS Anjan Kr. Roy, Past
Chairman,ICSI EIRC in his address said that Corporate Governance is not new to
Indian Civilization even Chanakya, has spoken on Corporate Governance by
referring to Raksha,Vrridhi,Palana and Yogakshema. He said that sustainable
growth today have moved into the spheres of maintaining healthy environment and
social equity. He said that ICSI is a pioneer in Corporate Governance and the
ICSI is working as an extended arm of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs for
implementing better Corporate Governance Principles.. He said that a Company
Secretary is a governance professional as
they play a pivotal role in
bringing about awareness on various issues impinging upon Corporate Governance.
CS Deepak Khaitan,
Secretary,ICSI EIRC in his address said
that good governance is a Culture and a climate
of Consistency, Responsibility, Accountability ,Fairness, Transparency and
effectiveness that is deployed throughout the business organization. He also
said that as a part of 2nd Corporate Governance Week this semniar is being organised to create awareness
among professionals on the topics on Corporate Governance, sustainability
& sustainability reporting, integrated reporting, responsible investment,
gender diversity, waste management, whistle blowing, risk management &
governance, and Good Corporate Citizenship.
After the inaugural session
and vote of thanks the technical session of the seminar begans started and the
topics discussed in the four technical sessions are
Board
Interlocks and their impact on Corporate Governance, Director Development and
Performance Evaluation, Gender Diversity, Regulators’ RoleBoard’s Role, Institutional
Investors’ Role, Law, Procedure & Issues, National Corporate Governance
Policy, Case for Non-financial Reporting – GRI Guidelines
The
speakers on the seminar were CS B. B. Chatterjee, Executive Vice-President &
Company Secretary, ITC Limited Shri Nitin Ambure, Vice-President, National
Securities Depository Limited Ms. Rubina Sen, Focal Point India Coordinator,
Global Reporting Initiative,CS Sanjay Kumar Gupta, Practising Company
Secretary, Shri Saud Siddique, Joint Managing Director, SREI Infrastructure
Finance Limited Ms. Sujata Roy, Assistant Professor, The West Bengal National
University of Juridical Sciences, Prof. (Dr.) Suman K. Mukerjee, Principal
& Dean, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Institute of Management Science Shri Vijay
Bhushan, Chairman, Association of National Exchanges Members of India, NIRC
(ANMI-NR), (and Shri Vinod Goel, Vice-Chairman, Association of National
Exchanges Members of India, EIRC (ANMI-ER)
