An improved direct torque controlled induction motor drive is reported in this paper. It is established that the conventional direct torque controlled drive has more torque and flux ripples in steady state, which result in poor torque response, acoustic noise and incorrect speed estimations. Hysteresis controllers also make the switching frequency of voltage source inverter a variable quantity. A strategy of variable duty ratio control scheme is proposed to increase switching frequency, and adjust the width of hysteresis bands according to the switching frequency. This technique minimizes torque and current ripples, improves torque response, and reduces switching losses in spite of its simplicity. Simulation results establish the improved performance of the proposed direct torque control method compared to conventional methods.