Independent directors (IDs) are viewed as being key for good corporate governance. Sectors such as media and hospitality have a high share of IDs on their boards, whereas oil & gas and telecom have the lowest such share. In listed companies, IDs make up more than half the board strength, whereas their share was just a shade under two-fifths for unlisted companies, which would certainly benefit from having more independent directors. While the average tenure of IDs in private companies is 7.43 years, it is much lower, at 1.3 years, for public sector companies.
