Asian Journal of Accounting and Governance 16: 93–104 (2021) ISSN 2180-3838 e-ISSN2716-6060 (http://dx.doi.org/10.17576/AJAG-2021-16-07) Trends and Patterns in Indian Board Structure tarun K Soni & aKShita arora ABSTRACT The board structure of Indian companies has witnessed a sea change in terms of its size and composition. Our study presents the trends and patterns in board characteristics for the last two decades for the top 500 companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange. We have made an attempt to measure variations across different sectors, age groups, and time periods in the mean values of variables by using one-way ANOVA. The differences between mean values and variances of board characteristics have been examined for two different time periods (2002-2010 and 2011-2019) using paired t-test. The contribution of our study is the comprehensive analysis of board trends suggesting signifcant differences in board size and composition across different sectors and time periods. The signifcant differences across different sectors also highlight heterogeneity among different sectors which should be taken into account while formulating different policies related to corporate governance. The regulatory reforms can be treated as crucial milestones towards developing stronger corporate governance mechanisms in India and regulators may deliberate on taking the reforms to the next level. Further, future scholars may ponder over the company’s strategic choices being followed for the functioning of their internal governance mechanism. Keywords: Corporate governance; board size; board independence; outside directors; India introduction The issue of corporate governance got its momentum when the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) framed voluntary guidelines in the year 1998 for listed companies. Then, in the year 2000, it became mandatory for the listed companies of a certain size to comply with new governance regulations, introduced through Clause 49 of the Listing Agreement. The Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) also formulated several committees to incorporate a better governance system in the corporate ecosphere. The major initiatives in the feld of corporate governance in India include the CII code, committees such as Kumar Mangalam Birla Committee, Clause 49 of the Listing Agreement, The Companies (Amendment) Act, 2013, SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements Regulations), etc. The purpose of the formation of several committees and periodic amendments is to review governance issues and bring transparency and accordingly, frame governance laws and reforms. The major reforms included increasing independent monitoring, splitting the roles of chairman and managing director and inclusion of women directors and women independent directors, the composition of several committees like audit, remuneration, and nomination committee, revamping the norms for appointment, removal, and remuneration of independent directors, etc. Consistent and concerted efforts are being made to enhance corporate credibility and governance standards and increase the shareholders’ say in governance matters (Guha et al. 2019; Shikha, 2017; Gupta & Shallu, 2014). The academic research on the role of boards in decision-making has gained momentum amid recent corporate failures and scandals. After the Satyam scandal, the board of directors faced a lot of criticism from investors and stakeholders for being unable to protect shareholders’ interests. The companies’ board is held responsible for any erroneous decision and is expected to be proactive with the prime objective of satisfying all the stakeholders and improving the performance of the frm (Hashim et al. 2021). The Indian board structure has observed a sea change in the last two decades and our study presents trends and patterns in board size and independence for the top listed 500 companies on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). The mandatory clause for the inclusion of independent directors in the board had made a notable impact on board size. The increase in the number of outside directors has led to the increase in total board size for many companies also (Arora & Sharma 2016) as the addition of independent members was not accompanied by the removal of directors in any other category. Our study tries to comprehend changing patterns in the board characteristics such as board size and board independence. It flls a signifcant gap by showcasing the changing patterns in the board structure across different sectors for the time span of eighteen years, i.e., 2002 to 2019. We examine how different policy changes over the years had an impact on the board composition of our sample companies. Further, an analysis of board structure has been done in relation to the company’s age, sector, and time period. Thus, the study conducts a comprehensive