The forum for what's next in the boardroom.
Independent Directors Forum (IDF) is a not-for-profit professional community for independent directors in India. A closed network for peer counsel, board-level learning, advocacy and your next mandate.
Independent directors carry the duty. Few have a forum of their own.
The role has grown faster than the support around it. Independent directors now chair audit committees, sign off on related party transactions, answer to regulators and carry personal liability, often with no peer group to test a judgement against.
IDF is that peer group. The statutory databank and training institutions do important work. IDF adds what happens between board meetings: candid, confidential conversation with people who sit in the same chair, practical briefings, and a collective voice on the issues directors face.
- Companies Act, 2013 · Section 149
- Sets who qualifies as independent, and Schedule IV codifies the role, duties and annual evaluation of independent directors.
- SEBI LODR · Regulation 17
- At least one third of a listed company's board must be independent, rising to half where the chairperson is executive or promoter-related.
- SEBI LODR · Regulation 18
- Two thirds of the audit committee, including its chair, must be independent directors.
- Rule 6, Appointment Rules, 2014
- Registration with the IICA independent directors' databank, with a proficiency self-assessment test unless exempt.
Eight programmes, built around the work of the board.
Each one answers a question independent directors have told us they struggle to get answered anywhere else.
Regulatory briefings
Plain-language notes on SEBI, MCA and RBI changes, written for the board rather than the compliance team.
Closed-door roundtables
Small, chaired discussions under the Chatham House Rule. What is said in the room stays in the room.
Board skills
Financial literacy, cyber risk, ESG and BRSR, enterprise risk. Focused sessions led by practitioners.
Board seat matching
A vetted member directory that companies and search firms can approach through the Secretariat.
Director to director
Experienced chairs and committee heads paired with members taking on their first independent mandate.
A collective voice
Engagement with regulators on liability, indemnity, D&O cover and the practical limits of the role.
Continuing development
Structured learning hours tracked across the year, recognised in your member record.
Benchmarks and surveys
Sitting fee and commission surveys, board evaluation practice and governance research for members.
A closed network, held to the standard of the boardroom.
Members only
No public profiles and no public feed. Every member is reviewed by the Secretariat before admission.
Chatham House Rule
Members may use what they hear, but never who said it. Candour is the point of the forum.
Your data, handled properly
Personal data is processed under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, used only for membership, and never sold.
Independent of any firm
IDF is a Section 8 not-for-profit. Partner firms support our programmes but never receive the member list.
Three steps from application to your first roundtable.
Apply
About two minutes. We ask for your LinkedIn profile, your board experience and what you want from the forum.
Review
The Secretariat reviews every application personally. You will hear from us within three working days with your status.
Welcome
Founding members are admitted together as one cohort, so the network is already full of peers on your first day.
Before you apply.
Who can apply?
Serving independent directors of listed and unlisted companies, other serving directors, and senior professionals preparing for an independent mandate. Every application is reviewed by the Secretariat.
Why do you ask for my LinkedIn profile?
It lets us verify identity and board experience without a long form, and it is how we keep the network closed to the people it is meant for. Only the Secretariat sees it during review.
Is there a fee?
Applying is free. Membership categories and fees for the founding cohort are shared with applicants once they are approved.
Who runs IDF?
The Independent Directors Forum is a not-for-profit company registered under Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013, incorporated on 25 September 2026. Any surplus is used for the forum's objects and is never distributed.
Does IDF replace the IICA databank?
No. Registration with the IICA databank remains a legal requirement for independent directors. IDF is an independent membership body that complements it with peer community, learning and advocacy.