The ministry of corporate affairs would release the draft voluntary guidelines for corporate governance by next week.

R Bandyopadhyay, secretary in the ministry of corporate affairs, announced it here on Tuesday at India Corporate Week, a government initiative to showcase the achievements of the corporate sector along with the initiatives of the corporate affairs ministry towards corporate regulatory reforms. The event began on Monday.

Unlike clause 49 of Sebi’s listing agreement, which is mandatory in nature, these guidelines would be voluntary. However, the catch is if a company chooses not to accept, it would be at the risk of attracting ire from investors. “Investors are bound to question why the company is not adopting it. Do they have anything to hide?” a ministry official told Financial Chronicle.

Speaking at a session organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in the capital on Tuesday, Bandyopadhyay assured the industry of a lot of flexibility in government approach while framing the guidelines. He stressed that the key thought process behind the guidelines was to build on ‘comply or explain’ theme. The government’s voluntary guidelines would incorporate suggestions from both CII and Ficci. Last week, CII released its guidelines under the chairmanship of Naresh Chandra.