The government today said it will meet the industry and professionals next week to finalise the revised draft of the Companies Bill 2009, which seeks to replace the half-a-century old Act.
"We are working on the final draft of the Companies Bill. On February 17, we will meet all stakeholders to hold the final round of consultations on the Companies Bill 2009, before bringing it before Parliament in the Budget session," Corporate Affairs Minister Murli Deora said at a conference.
In his first press conference after taking charge as the new Corporate Affairs Minister, Deora had said that his priority would be to ensure enactment of the new company law in the forthcoming session of Parliament.
The new Companies Bill, which seeks to delegate greater responsibility to independent directors, came against the backdrop of the multi-crore accounting fraud in Satyam Computer Services, exposing loopholes in the existing corporate governance norms and highlighted the need for stricter rules.
The Bill also seeks to protect the rights of minority shareholders, bring about responsible self-regulation with adequate disclosure and accountability, and lesser government control over internal corporate processes.
The Companies Bill 2009, which lapsed with the dissolution of the 14th Lok Sabha, was reintroduced in the Lok Sabha in August 2009.
Subsequently, in August 2010 the Parliamentary standing committee on finance gave its report after examining the provisions of the law.
