Thrust and Parry

Corporate governance should enhance and ensure the interests of all stakeholders, not only shareholders but also the workforce, suppliers of capital and other goods and services, customers and society," says Mathew John, Head of Partnerships and Communications, Association of Independent Directors of India (AIDI). But shareholders surely are the first among equals in this list, and increasingly they are making their presence felt to ensure that company boards and managements acknowledge it. However small the percentage of shares they hold, they have a stake in the company's future, and are unwilling to blindly trust boards and managements to safeguard it.

The past year has seen a number of instances of such shareholder activism, the latest being their opposition to the mega merger of Fortis Healthcare Ltd's (FHL) hospital division with 34 hospitals with the 14 hospitals belonging to Manipal Health Enterprises Pvt Ltd (MHEPL) in March this