Sebi working on mobile app for e-voting to facilitate greater retail participation

Markets regulator Sebi is working on a mobile app for e-voting by retail investors of listed companies to facilitate greater participation in management proposals, especially those related to corporate governance.

Further, the regulator said it plans to provide relevant links to the recommendations of registered proxy advisors to retail investors in a to bid facilitate such investors in taking informed decisions on the proposals of listed entities.

These move are aimed at strengthening the corporate governance norms of listed companies.

"In order to ease the process of casting e-voting thereby facilitating greater participation of the retail investors, the designing of a common mobile app for e-voting is in progress," the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said in its annual report for 2018-19.

Further, Sebi said "the option of providing relevant links to the recommendations of Sebi registered proxy advisors is also under consideration." This move will help investors in taking informed decisions on the proposals of the listed entities.

Continuing with the initiatives taken in previous years to strengthen the norms for governance in the securities market, in 2019-20 Sebi will review the existing disclosure framework pertaining to environmental, social and governance based disclosures relating to business responsibility report and integrated reporting.

"Effective governance is a necessary and important tool for protecting the interests of various stakeholders, particularly small investors, in the market. This has been and will always remain an important area of focus for Sebi," the regulator noted.

Besides, Sebi said that Indian investors will soon be provided with the facility to hold securities issued overseas in their demat accounts in India.