CWG to review Corporate Disclosures, Board-Level ESG Oversight and Global Best Practices

The Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA), under the aegis of Ministry of Corporate Affairs, has constituted a Core Working Group (CWG) on Corporate Affairs and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) under the Chairmanship of Shri Gyaneshwar Kumar Singh, Director General & CEO, IICA. This was done in pursuance of the directions of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA). The Group has been formed to facilitate structured consultation and decision-making on matters relating to corporate disclosures and governance in alignment with global practices and national priorities.

The terms of reference of the CWG include examination of disclosure provisions under the Companies Act, 2013, review of international best practices, recommendations for board-level ESG oversight, convergence of Indian norms with global standards, stakeholder engagement frameworks, and enabling measures for innovation, financing and impact assessment of ESG initiatives.

The CWG is chaired by Shri Gyaneshwar Kumar Singh, Director General & CEO, IICA. Shri R. Mukundan, Managing Director & CEO, Tata Chemicals will serve as Senior Expert Advisor. Members include Senior Leaders from IOCL; NTPC Ltd.; Schneider; Infosys Ltd., Reserve Bank Information Technology Ltd.; Aditya Birla Group, Reliance Industries, Tata Consumer Products, ONGC, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Tata Steel; Consultancy firms; Industry Experts & Academicians from IIM Bangalore and IICA .

Prof. Garima Dadhich, Head, School of Business Environment (SBE), IICA, will serve as the Member-Convener. The School of Business Environment shall function as the Secretariat to the Group and provide institutional and technical support.

Board-level ESG oversight: group to review disclosure norms, align domestic rules with international best practices. A Core Working Group chaired by the IICA Director General will review disclosure provisions under the Companies Act, assess international best practices, and recommend mechanisms for board-level ESG oversight, convergence with global standards, stakeholder engagement frameworks, and measures for innovation, financing and impact assessment, with the School of Business Environment at IICA serving as Secretariat to provide institutional and technical support.