Indian companies scramble to find women directors

New Delhi - As Indian companies scramble to meet a deadline to appoint women to their boards, some wealthy business owners have a solution that meets the letter if not the intention of the law: appointing their wives.

India's market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India, has set a final deadline of April 1 for all of the country's listed companies to name at least one female director.

In the 12 months after the SEBI order was first announced in February 2014, only 580 companies out of thousands had appointed women as directors, according to local reports. More than 80 appointments were family of company owners.