Independent director standards restrict prior employment, related-party pecuniary ties, and define board independence requirements. Regulation 16 prescribes definitions central to board governance: it defines control by reference to takeover rules, sets a detailed statutory definition and disqualifications for an independent director including integrity, non-promoter status, restrictions on relatives' shareholdings and pecuniary relationships, cooling-off periods for prior employment and professional ties, and limits on cross-board non-independent/independent relationships. It also defines material subsidiary by relative turnover or net worth and requires a listed entity policy, and defines senior management as core management one level below chief executive equivalents.