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Unlike the country's politicians, those holding directorships on corporate boardrooms in India are relatively younger than their peers in other countries.
At an average age of 56 years, directors on the boards of listed Indian firms are relatively younger than their counterparts in countries such as the US, the UK and Singapore.
But the worrying factor might be that close to 40 per cent of the 14,282 directors on the boards of 2,744 BSE-listed companies are above the age of 60.
Against the age of directors on the boards of Indian listed firms, in the US, the Spencer Stuart Board Index for American companies in 2010 shows that the average age of a board director in the S&P 500 firms had gone up to 62 years, up from 60 years in 2009.
In the UK, the average has risen to 59 years, while in Singapore, the average age of directors is reported at close to 58 years, according to a study by global executive recruitment firm Korn-Ferry. Female directors, on an average, in Singapore's firms clocked in at 54.7 years while male directors had an average age of 59.2 years, according to the report.
In India, despite the high number of older directors, including 1,947 septuagenarians and 385 octogenarians, the relatively lower average age for directors in India Inc is helped by the 52 directors who are below the age of 25 and another 712 who are between 26 years and 35 years.
The youngest director, Mr Dhaval Ravindra Shethwala, is aged 19 years and figures on the board of Jalan Metallurgical Ltd. At a ripe old age of 99 years, Mr K.M. Philip was the oldest in a list of 2,349 individuals who are above 70 years. Of these, 18 are above 90 years.
Across the globe, retirement ages for directors are also rising. It has been reported that more than 50 per cent of US boards have a retirement age of 72, with about 20 per cent setting it at 75.
In India, while no age limit is prescribed under law, a Government-appointed expert committee has stipulated that in a public company, appointment of directors beyond a prescribed age say 70 years should be subject to a special resolution by the shareholders, which should also prescribe his term.
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