NEW DELHI - IT industry body National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) Wednesday said it will form a corporate governance and ethics committee, headed by Infosys Technologies chairman N.R. Narayana Murthy.

The committee will function as a permanent sub-committee of the Nasscom executive council and is one of the initiatives being taken by the trade body to strengthen corporate governance practices in the Indian IT-BPO (business process outsourcing) industry, an official statement said.

'We are delighted that Narayana Murthy has kindly consented to chair this committee. His valuable experience and leadership will help the industry and Nasscom reaffirm its commitment to the highest levels of corporate governance and transparency,' Nasscom president Som Mittal said in the statement.

'This committee will work with authorities, policy makers and regulators to achieve its objectives,' he added.

The eight-member committee will include industry experts, independent directors and academicians as its members, and will meet at least thrice a year to formulate strategies and measure implementation schedule.

Said Ganesh Natarajan, Nasscom chairman and global chief executive of Zensar Technologies: 'While the committee will focus on awareness and advocacy and share best practices across the member community, we will also be considering steps to further strengthen the excellent reputation of this sector in corporate India.'

The objectives of this committee include sharpening the existing code of ethics, values and corporate code of conduct for industry and emphasising existing regulations and practices on corporate governance, the statement said.

It will also develop and create awareness of best practices to be followed by the board, audit committees and independent directors of organisations.

Nasscom had earlier said that it would set up such a committee to tighten the norms of corporate governance in the wake of the Satyam Computer controversy.