An Alternate Director is a person appointed under Section 161(2) by the Board of Directors to act in the place of an original director who is absent from India for a period of not less than 3 months. The alternate director vacates office as soon as the original director returns to India, and the term of the alternate director cannot extend beyond the term of the original director. The alternate director carries all the rights and responsibilities of the original director during their tenure.

Under Section 161(2) of the Companies Act, 2013, an alternate director is a person appointed to act in place of a director who is absent from India for a period of not less than three months. He vacates office as soon as the original director returns to India, and he cannot be a person who already holds a directorship in the same company.