Zee New Bureau
New Delhi: Corporate Affairs Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday pushed for changes in the Companies amendment bill, 2014 to improve business climate in the country.
This would be among the first major initiatives by the government to make changes in the country's regulatory framework to improve its global ranking for ease of doing business, where India has been ranked very low at 142nd position in the latest World Bank report.
The 14 proposed amendments include provision to ensure that frauds beyond a certain threshold would need to be mandatorily reported by the auditors to the government.
To address concerns raised by the corporates, the government has also agreed to relax a number of norms including those pertaining to related party transactions, while resolutions passed by the companies' boards would not be subjected to public inspection.
The new Companies Act, which came into force with effect from 1 April with some provisions yet to become operational, has faced stiff criticism for many provisions.
"Most of them (amendments) are intended for one purpose, that is, for the ease of doing business," said Jaitley, who also is the Finance Minister, while moving the The Companies Act (Amendment) Bill, 2014, for consideration and passage.
Arguing for the need for amendments, Jaitley said, "Now, after the provisions were implemented, while enforcing the provision, we found that there were certain difficulties with regard to the enforcement of certain provisions or certain errors, while drafting had taken place."
With agency inputs
