New Delhi, Aug 7 (IANS): The government on Friday said that during the last four years, it has recommended the names of 516 persons to be appointed to the position of non-official directors in central public sector enterprises (CPSEs).

Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Arun Jaitley informed the Lok Sabha during Question Hour that: "Search committee has recommended names of 516 persons for filling up 457 positions of non-official directors in 212 CPSEs."

According to the minister's reply, out of the total recommended names, 172 are ex-government servants, 136 ex-directors of CPSEs, 87 academician and 114 professionals.

Answering another question in the lower house of parliament, the minister informed that the government has directed auditors to highlight any lapse in companies related to frauds, internal control, inventories and outstanding dues in order to curb fraudulent practices.

"The government has issued the "Companies (Auditor’s Report) Order, 2015" requiring the auditors to include in their report a statement on various matters, including fraud, internal control system, physical verification of inventories and repayment of dues to banks," Jaitley said in a written reply.