Coal India board to soon have 3 more independent directors

The government is likely to soon appoint three more independent directors on the board of the world's largest coal producer, Coal India Ltd (CIL).

"The government is in the process of appointing three independent directors on Coal India board and the appointments are likely to take place by the month-end," an official said.

As per the guidelines of capital market regulator Sebi, a company should have on its board 50 per cent representation by independent directors, if it has an executive chairman.

Until October 31, CIL didn't have any independent director on its board for over two months. All the seven people on the positions retired between April and August.

State-owned CIL had on November 1 announced the appointment of three independent directors. Alok Perti, R N Trivedi and Kamal Raj Gupta - will be on the board of PSU for a period of three years or until further orders, CIL had said in a regulatory filing to BSE.

"Directors are nominated as non-official part time on the Board of Coal India Ltd by... Ministry of Coal vide letter dated October 31, 2013 for a period of three years or until further orders with effect from October 31, 2013," the company had said.

Alok Perti is the former Coal Secretary. He held the post of Secretary from 2011 to 2012. For a few months after his retirement from the post of Coal Secretary, he was Advisor to the Coal Ministry.

On the other hand, R N Trivedi was earlier also on the board of Coal India from August 24, 2010, to August 23, 2013 for a period of three years.

On August 26, the company had said in a filing to BSE that Trivedi, Sachi Chaudhuri and Anis Ansari "cease to be directors on the board of Coal India Limited with effect from. August 24, 2013".

S K Barua, Sheela Bhide and Kamal R Gupta had completed their tenure as independent director on Coal India's board on August 3, while Arun Kumar Rath relinquished the charge of Director in April.