New Company Law Bill to be tabled in Parliament soon

The much-awaited new Company Law Bill will be introduced in Parliament very soon as it is almost ready, a senior government official said today. "We are now ready with the Bill. We will introduce it in the Parliament in the very near future," Ministry of Corporate Affairs Secretary Anurag Goel said at an Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) function here. The ministry is working in close coordination with the law ministry and it is likely to be tabled very shortly, he said. The new Bill would replace the existing Company Act, 1956. The new law would promote shareholders democracy, replace the approval-based system with a system of responsible disclosures, promote good corporate governance and effective protection of investors. Talking about other initiatives, Goel said, insolvency reform was another area that the ministry was looking into. The matter is before the Supreme Court. As and when it is cleared by the apex court, it would be implemented, he said. Goel said, the ministry is also in the process of setting up Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs at Manesar at a cost of Rs 211 crore. The institute would work as a think tank and help in capacity building, he said, adding, a partnership agreement would be signed with IIT Kharagpur soon, which will help in implementing the project. There would be five centres of excellence, including one on investors' protection, he added. – www.business-standard.com