National Interest

The SECL group is committed to benefit the economic development of the country in which it operates. SECL company shall not undertake any project or activity causing harm to the wider interests of the communities in which it operates.

Company’s management practices and business conduct shall benefit the country, localities and communities in which it operates, to the extent possible and affordable, and shall be in accordance with the laws of the land.

SECL company, in the course of its business activities, shall respect the culture, customs and traditions of each region in which it operates. It shall conform to trade procedures, including licensing, documentation and other necessary formalities, as applicable.

Financial Reporting and Records

SECL company shall prepare and maintain its accounts fairly and accurately and in accordance with the accounting and financial reporting standards which represent the generally accepted guidelines, principles, standards, laws and regulations of the country in which the company conducts its business affairs.

Internal accounting and audit procedures shall reflect, fairly and accurately, all of the company’s business transactions and disposition of assets, and shall have internal controls to provide assurance to the company’s partners and clients that the transactions are accurate and appropriate. All required information shall be accessible to company auditors and other authorized parties and government agencies. There shall be no fractious omissions of any company transactions from the books and records, no advance-income recognition and no hidden bank account and funds.

Any willful, material misrepresentation of and / or misinformation on the financial accounts and reports shall be regarded as a violation of the Code, apart from inviting appropriate civil or criminal action under the relevant laws. No employee shall make, authorize, abet or collude in an improper payment, unlawful commission or bribing.

Commercialism

SECL company shall fully support the development and operation of competitive open markets and shall promote the liberalisation of trade and investment in the market in which it operates. Specifically, SECL company or employee shall not engage in restrictive trade practices, abuse of market dominance or similar unfair trade activities.

Any collection of competitive information shall be made only in the normal course of business and shall be obtained only through legally permitted sources and means.

Unbiased Strategy

SECL company shall provide equal opportunities to all its employees and all qualified applicants for employment without regard to their race, caste, religion, color, ancestry, marital status, gender, sexual orientation, age, nationality, ethnic origin or disability.

Human resource policies shall promote diversity and equality in the workplace, as well as compliance with all local labour laws, while encouraging the adoption of international best practices.

Consideration of Others

Employees of SECL company shall be treated with dignity and in accordance with the SECL policy of maintaining a work environment free from all forms of harassment, whether physical, verbal or psychological. Employee policies and practices shall be administered in a manner consistent with applicable laws and other provisions of this Code respect for the right to privacy and the right to be heard, and that in all matters equal opportunity is provided to those eligible and decisions are based on merit.

Payments or Gifts

SECL company and its employees shall neither receive nor offer or make, directly or indirectly, any illegal payments, remuneration, gifts, donations or comparable benefits that are intended, or perceived, to obtain uncompetitive favors for the conduct of its business. The company shall cooperate with governmental authorities in efforts to eliminate all forms of bribery, fraud and graft.

However, SECL company and its employees may, with full disclosure, accept and offer nominal gifts, provided such gifts are customarily given and / or are of a commemorative nature. Company shall have a policy to clarify its rules and regulations on gifts and entertainment, to be used for the guidance of its employees.

Compliance with Governmental Laws, Rules and Regulations

SECL company and its employees shall not, unless mandated under applicable laws, offer or give any company funds or property as donation to any government agency or its representative, directly or through intermediaries, in order to obtain any favourable performance of official duties. SECL company shall comply with government procurement regulations and shall be transparent in all its dealings with government agencies.

Concern for Health and Safety

SECL company shall strive to provide a safe, healthy, clean and ergonomic working environment for its people. It shall prevent the wasteful use of natural resources and be committed to improving the environment, particularly with regard to the emission of greenhouse gases, and shall endeavor to offset the effect of climate change in all spheres of its activities.

Cooperation

SECL company shall cooperate with other construction Partners including applicable joint ventures, by sharing knowledge and physical, human and management resources, and by making efforts to resolve disputes amicably, as long as this does not adversely affect its business interests and computed value.

Public Representation

SECL company shall be represented only by specifically authorised directors and employees. It shall be the sole responsibility of these authorised representatives to disclose information about the company .

Related Parties

Parties which have business dealings with the SECL group but are not members of the group, such as consultants, agents, sales representatives, distributors, channel partners, contractors and suppliers, shall not be authorised to represent SECL company without the written permission of the SECL company, and / or if their business conduct and ethics are known to be inconsistent with the Code.

Third parties and their employees are expected to abide by the Code in their interaction with, and on behalf of, SECL company. SECL company is encouraged to sign a non-disclosure agreement with third parties to support confidentiality of information.

Ethical Conduct

Every employee of SECL company, including full-time directors and the chief executive, shall exhibit culturally appropriate deportment in the region where they operate in, and deal on behalf of the company with professionalism, honesty and integrity, while conforming to high moral and ethical standards. Such conduct shall be fair and transparent and to be perceived by third parties.

Every employee of SECL company shall preserve the human rights of every individual and the community, and shall strive to honour commitments. Every employee shall be responsible for the implementation of and compliance with the Code in his / her environment. Failure to adhere to the Code could attract severe consequences, including termination of employment.

Regulatory Compliance

Employees of SECL company, in their business conduct, shall comply with all applicable laws and regulations, in letter and spirit. If the ethical and professional standards of applicable laws and regulations are below that of the Code, then the standards of the Code shall prevail.

Directors of SECL company shall comply with applicable laws and regulations of all the relevant regulatory and other authorities. As good governance practice they shall safeguard the confidentiality of all information received by them by virtue of their position.

Concurrent Employment

Consistent with applicable laws, an employee of SECL company shall not, without the requisite, officially written approval of the company, accept employment or a position of responsibility (such as a consultant or a director) with any other company, nor provide freelance services to anyone, with or without remuneration. In the case of a full-time director or the chief executive, such approval must be obtained from the board of directors of the company.

Conflict of Interest

An employee or director of SECL company shall always act in the interest of the company, and ensure that any business or personal association which he / she may have does not involve a conflict of interest with the operations of the company and his / her role therein. An employee, including the executive director (other than independent director) of SECL company, shall not accept a position of responsibility in any other non-SECL company or not-for-profit organisation without specific sanction.

The above shall not apply to (whether for remuneration or otherwise):
a) Nominations to the boards of SECL Partners, joint ventures or associate Partners.

b) Memberships / positions of responsibility in educational / professional bodies, wherein such association will benefit the employee / SECL company.

c) Nominations / memberships in government committees / bodies or organisations.

d) Exceptional circumstances, as determined by the competent authority.

Competent authority, in the case of all employees, shall be the chief executive, who in turn shall report such exceptional cases to the board of directors on a quarterly basis. In case of the chief executive and executive directors, the Group Corporate Centre shall be the competent authority.

An employee or a director of SECL company shall not engage in any business, relationship or activity which might conflict with the interest of his / her company or the SECL group. A conflict of interest, actual or potential, may arise where, directly or indirectly…

a) An employee of SECL company engages in a business, relationship or activity with anyone who is party to a transaction with his / her company.

b) An employee is in a position to derive an improper benefit, personally or to any of his / her relatives, by making or influencing decisions relating to any transaction.

c) An independent judgement of the company’s or group’s best interest cannot be exercised.

The main areas of such actual or potential conflicts of interest shall include the following:

a) An employee or a full-time director of SECL company conducting business on behalf of his / her company or being in a position to influence a decision with regard to his / her company’s business with a supplier or customer where his / her relative is a principal officer or representative, resulting in a benefit to him / her or his / her relative.

b) Award of benefits such as increase in salary or other remuneration, posting, promotion or recruitment of a relative of an employee of SECL company, where such an individual is in a position to influence decisions with regard to such benefits.

c) The interest of the company or the group can be compromised or defeated.

Notwithstanding such or any other instance of conflict of interest that exist due to historical reasons, adequate and full disclosure by interested employees shall be made to the company’s management. It is also incumbent upon every employee to make a full disclosure of any interest which the employee or the employee’s immediate family, including parents, spouse and children, may have in a family business or a company or firm that is a competitor, supplier, customer or distributor of or has other business dealings with his / her company.

Upon a decision being taken in the matter, the employee concerned shall be required to take necessary action, as advised, to resolve / avoid the conflict.

If an employee fails to make the required disclosure and the management of its own accord becomes aware of an instance of conflict of interest that ought to have been disclosed by the employee, the management shall take a serious view of the matter and consider suitable disciplinary action against the employee.

Securities Transactions and Confidential Information

An employee of SECL company and his / her immediate family shall not derive any benefit or counsel, or assist others to derive any benefit, from access to and possession of information about the company or group or its clients or suppliers that is not in the public domain and, thus, constitutes unpublished, price-sensitive insider information.

An employee of SECL company shall also respect and observe the confidentiality of information pertaining to other Partners, their patents, intellectual property rights, trademarks and inventions; and strictly observe a practice of non-disclosure.

Protecting Company Assets

The assets of SECL company shall not be misused; they shall be employed primarily and judiciously for the purpose of conducting the business for which they are duly authorised. These include tangible assets such as equipment and machinery, systems, facilities, materials and resources, as well as intangible assets such as information technology and systems, proprietary information, intellectual property, and relationships with customers and suppliers.

Integrity of Data Furnished

Every employee of SECL company shall ensure, at all times, the integrity of data or information furnished by him/her to the company. He/she shall be entirely responsible in ensuring that the confidentiality of all data is retained and in no circumstance transferred to any outside person/party in the course of normal operations without express guidelines from or, the approval of the management.

Reporting Concerns

Every employee of SECL company shall promptly report to the management, and / or third-party ethics helpline, when she / he becomes aware of any actual or possible violation of the Code or an event of misconduct, act of misdemeanor or act not in the company’s interest. Such reporting shall be made available to suppliers and partners, too.

Any SECL employee can choose to make a protected disclosure under the whistleblower policy of the company, providing for reporting to the chairperson of the audit committee or the board of directors or specified authority. Such a protected disclosure shall be forwarded, when there is reasonable evidence to conclude that a violation is possible or has taken place, with a covering letter, which shall bear the identity of the whistleblower.

The company shall ensure protection to the whistleblower and any attempts to intimidate him / her would be treated as a violation of the Code.

Note:
SECL does not provide a full, comprehensive and complete explanation of all the rules that employees are bound to follow. Employees have a continuing obligation to familiarise themselves with all applicable laws, company policies, procedures and work rules.