Mercer Mettl partners with IICA for building databank of independent directors

Online assessment platform Mercer Mettl on Thursday said it has partnered with the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA) to help launch the Independent Directors' Databank.

All existing and eligible independent directors (IDs) are required to register themselves with the databank by March 2020, and undergo an online proficiency self-assessment, powered by Mercer Mettl, a release said here.

The databank would also enable corporates to search and select independent directors from the list.

"We are excited and proud to be a government partner in its endeavor to bring quality building home. The Independent Directors' Databank is a first-of-its-kind initiative by the government and will act as a repository of all existing and aspiring independent directors," Mercer Mettl CEO Siddhartha Gupta said.

The effort comes in the wake of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs' (MCA) objectives of strengthening corporate governance and ethics under the Companies Act, 2013.

Individuals who have registered in the Independent Directors' Databank, maintained by IICA, would need to log on to the databank portal to book a slot for themselves to take the assessment.

The Mercer Mettl platform will also offer results and reports to confer eligibility and certifications to individuals on their understanding of company operations, regulations, and compliance after benchmarking their scores against its proprietary Credibility Index.