The Hindu Business Line : `Co Secretaries must have strategic vision to meet global challenges'

THE Minister of State for Company Affairs (Independent Charge), Mr Prem Chand Gupta, on Friday said that company secretaries (CS) need to have a strategic vision to emerge as disciplined professionals offering globally competitive services to corporate sector.

Speaking at the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) Foundation Day Lecture here, Mr Gupta said that the CS professionals needed to unleash continuous and seamless improvements through value-addition to their services.

The approach of the concept paper on Company Law will help them take on a major role in better corporate governance and strategic management, he said.

In promoting efficiencies and competitiveness in the economy, it is also necessary that inefficient companies be weeded out very easily and quickly from the system.

"To this end, the concept paper gives company secretaries a major role in completing the liquidation process of such companies smoothly and professionally," he pointed out.

Highlighting the process of judicial reforms, which involves critical appreciation and assessment of the existing system, he said, "the competitiveness and the intensity of dynamism are going to grow with the processes of globalisation.

As professionals advising corporate managements in facing global competition, members of ICSI will have to bear heavy responsibilities to ensure that Indian corporate sector vibrates with confidence to take on the multi-cultural business ambience in an extremely competitive environment."

Earlier, in his address on `Reforms in Indian judicial system', the Union Minister of Law and Justice, Dr H.R. Bhardwaj, said, "No matter how good is a country's legislation, it will not stand up by itself.

"To be effective, laws need to be supported by well-functioning enforcement and dispute-resolution institutions."