How can experienced professionals become Independent Directors

Test prep + personal branding program + corporate governance certification

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Have you worked in the corporate sector for several years? Do you want to explore new ways to leverage your experience to contribute to the corporate sector?
Do you have a decade or more of experience in finance, law, management, sales, marketing, research, corporate governance, operations or other areas related to a company’s business?
Are you retired/approaching retirement and considering lucrative part-time options to generate income and also utilise your decades of work experience?

Test prep

Personal branding program

Certification as corporate governance

You can become an independent director, and be appointed to the board of directors of large companies in India.

This is a part-time gig which carries incredible prestige and you can earn a substantial amount for being a part of the board of companies.

Every listed company, a large public company with paid up share capital in excess of INR 10 crores or turnover of more than INR 100 crores or outstanding loans, debentures and deposits is more than INR 50 crore or a funded startup which plans to do an IPO, must appoint at least one-third independent directors to its board if its a public listed company and at least 2 independent directors if its a public unlisted company.

However, to be appointed as an independent director, you need to clear a one-hour online proficiency self-assessment test organised by Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs, and have your name entered in a database called the Independent Directors’ Databank, which only takes about 3 months’ preparation.

The test will assess your knowledge of company law, securities law, corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, and some aspects of accounting and finance.

The demand for independent directors is very high:

As of June 2021, there were almost 22 lakh companies in India.

1.67 lakh companies were incorporated in 2021.

7.5K are listed on stock exchanges.

However, only 10,798 people have passed this online test currently, and approx. 20,800 names are on the data bank as of Nov. 2022.
At least 5-10 times more independent directors are needed right now!
This opportunity carries immense prestige. There is no retirement age, it is part-time, and your past work experience continues to give you rich rewards, once you have cracked the proficiency test and your name is in the databank.
Even if you are a CEO, a CXO, a startup founder or an executive director, clearing this test indicates that you are conversant with corporate governance best practices.
Do you want to explore this further?
We are here to help you identify if this is the right opportunity for you, how to prepare for and clear the test, and get started with building relationships with potential clients.

Who is this for?

People who have worked for a decade or more in the corporate sector in any position
CEOs, CFOs, COOs, and other C-Suite Level executives of businesses which are targeting IPO in the next 2-3 years

HR managers
Other specialists in finance, law, management, sales, marketing, research, corporate governance, operations or other areas related to a company’s business

Lawyers, accountants, company secretaries with a decade or more of experience
Anyone who has retired or is approaching retirement and is exploring lucrative post-retirement career options

How LawSikho can help you

We saw that the independent director training programs out there do not address these things, and hence created a unique solution to assist our learners with all these things.
- If you give it 2 hours per day, you can achieve all of the above in just 6 months.
- Even if you can’t focus at length as you are very busy, a year is more than enough to do these things.
- We have the following programs to enable you to become independent directors:
- 6-month Personal Branding Program for Corporate Leaders: INR 50,000
3-month Executive Certificate Course in Corporate Governance for Directors and CXOs: INR 40,000 - this course will train you on the practical aspects of corporate governance by giving you training on mock boardroom scenarios. Even lawyers, CAs, and CS do not have this view of governance unless they have themselves been independent directors before.
A 6-month bonus course on Independent Directors Databank - Online Proficiency Self Assessment Test (Conducted by Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs) to crack the IICA’s exam: INR 40,000

What do you get?

All the courses have recognition from National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and Skill India.

NSDC is set up by the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, and Skill India is an initiative launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and aims to impart vocational training to over 40 crore people in India by 2022.

Learning high demand skill - build your personal brand + get hands-on experience of corporate boardrooms in simulation mode
Online live classes every week from practitioners - 2 live classes every week, after work hours (8-9:30 pm IST if between Monday to Saturday, or Sunday afternoons; recordings available)
Get a new assignment every week to build your brand in the real world
Get corrections on your work and improve with feedback every week
All the study material you need - 24x7 online access to updated study materials + hard copy materials of hundreds of pages for the corporate governance course and the independent directors’ exam (you don’t need to buy any other books)
A safe space to make mistakes and learn so you don’t make mistakes in real life
Guidance and support for building your track record and personal brand
Performance coaches to push you, give you weekly targets
Schedule 1:1 sessions with performance coaches, course anchors, evaluators or writing coaches to discuss doubts in detail.

Here is a sample certificate:

FAQs

Who can enrol for the LawSikho Courses?

We recommend that you should have completed your Higher Secondary / Class XII from a recognized Board / University. In the case of foreign nationals, you should have completed the equivalent of Higher Secondary in India in your respective country. You should also be comfortable with the English language and using a computer. However, we have no formal pre-qualification requirements because we are not a University or college. Anyone who wants to learn is welcome to join our courses.

Are hard copy study materials provided for reference, or are there only online classes?

Students of LawSikho will be provided hard copy materials, we will dispatch it within 45 days of your course commencement date.

However, online classes, videos, regulatory updates and periodic upgrades to the courses cannot be included in the hard copies. We will provide you with hard copy material for all important chapters. We keep adding many new chapters from time to time and there are restrictions on page numbers so all online material cannot be available in hard copy. We would keep adding new material online from time to time, so please do not expect all such material to be made available in the hard copy also. You can use the hard copy materials for your reference, however, we recommend that you do not exclusively rely on hard copies for cracking the assessment test and the exercises. Please refer to the online library of materials from time to time.

Note: We will send hard copy material through our service partners. We have three service partners.

Indian Speed Post (Provides delivery ‘anywhere in India’ under contractual service)
Delhivery
Trackon Couriers Pvt Limited

If our service partners do not have a presence in your area and want to get the hard copy, you can send us a specific request.

LawSikho will not be responsible if the speed post bounces back or hard copy material is not delivered. We will levy the courier charge on you in such a scenario.

Please visit the respective course page to learn more about the hard copy study material policy of that course.

To get more information about the course fill in the details