179. Powers of Board
(1) The Board of Directors of a company shall be entitled to exercise all such
powers, and to do all such acts and things, as the company is authorised to exercise and do:
Provided that in exercising such power or doing such act or thing, the Board shall be
subject to the provisions contained in that behalf in this Act, or in the memorandum or
articles, or in any regulations not inconsistent therewith and duly made thereunder, including
regulations made by the company in general meeting:
Provided further that the Board shall not exercise any power or do any act or thing
which is directed or required, whether under this Act or by the memorandum or articles of the
company or otherwise, to be exercised or done by the company in general meeting.
(2) No regulation made by the company in general meeting shall invalidate any prior
act of the Board which would have been valid if that regulation had not been made.
(3) The Board of Directors of a company shall exercise the following powers on behalf
of the company by means of resolutions passed at meetings of the Board, namely:—
(a) to make calls on shareholders in respect of money unpaid on their shares;
(b) to authorise buy-back of securities under section 68;
(c) to issue securities, including debentures, whether in or outside India;
(d) to borrow monies;
(e) to invest the funds of the company;
(f) to grant loans or give guarantee or provide security in respect of loans;
(g) to approve financial statement and the Board’s report;
(h) to diversify the business of the company;
(i) to approve amalgamation, merger or reconstruction;
(j) to take over a company or acquire a controlling or substantial stake in another
company;
(k) any other matter which may be prescribed:
Provided that the Board may, by a resolution passed at a meeting, delegate to any
committee of directors, the managing director, the manager or any other principal officer of
the company or in the case of a branch office of the company, the principal officer of the
branch office, the powers specified in clauses (d) to (f) on such conditions as it may specify:
Provided further that the acceptance by a banking company in the ordinary course of
its business of deposits of money from the public repayable on demand or otherwise and
withdrawable by cheque, draft, order or otherwise, or the placing of monies on deposit by a
banking company with another banking company on such conditions as the Board may
prescribe, shall not be deemed to be a borrowing of monies or, as the case may be, a making
of loans by a banking company within the meaning of this section.
Explanation I.—Nothing in clause (d) shall apply to borrowings by a banking company
from other banking companies or from the Reserve Bank of India, the State Bank of India or
any other banks established by or under any Act.
Explanation II.—In respect of dealings between a company and its bankers, the exercise
by the company of the power specified in clause (d) shall mean the arrangement made by the
company with its bankers for the borrowing of money by way of overdraft or cash credit or
otherwise and not the actual day-to-day operation on overdraft, cash credit or other accounts
by means of which the arrangement so made is actually availed of.
(4) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to affect the right of the company in general
meeting to impose restrictions and conditions on the exercise by the Board of any of the
powers specified in this section.