The Hindu Business Line : Irani panel on company law to meet next month

This exercise was to enable evolution of a simplified compact law that will be able to address the changes taking place in the national and international scenario, facilitate adoption of internationally accepted best practices as well as provide adequate flexibility for timely evolution of new arrangements as warranted, official sources said.

The committee has been asked to make recommendations to the Government on issues arising from the revision of the existing Companies Act and responses received from various stakeholders on the Concept Paper for revamped company law.

It has also been asked to suggest measures to make the Act more compact by reducing its size and removing redundant provisions.

Besides, it has been mandated to recast the existing provisions of the law to enable easy and unambiguous interpretation of the company law.

In order to meet the constant demand of ever-changing business environment, the committee has been asked to look into the prospects of providing greater flexibility in rule making to enable timely response to ever-evolving business models.

The Ministry of Company Affairs has asked the committee to suggest measures in the law for protecting the interests of stakeholders and investors, including small investors.

Other members of the expert committee include Mr Z.S. Negi, Additional Secretary, Law; Mr K.N. Memani, nominee of FICCI; Mr Anil Agarwal, Alternate President, Assocham; Mr R. Seshasayee, nominee of CII; Mr R.S. Adukia, nominee of ICAI; Ms Preeti Malhotra, nominee of ICSI; Mr T.P. Ghosh, nominee of ICWAI; Ms Kalpana Morparia, representative of banks; Mr R. Parthasarthy, representative of FIs; and Mr O.P. Vaish and Mr Shardul Shroff, senior Advocates. Mr Jitesh Khosla, Joint Secretary, MCA, is the member-convener.

Further, the special invitees to the expert committee shall include, Mr M.M.K. Sardana, Member, MRTPC; Mr Bhagwat Swarup, Member, Income-Tax Settlement Commission, New Delhi; Mr R.S. Loona, Executive Director (Law), SEBI; and Mr S. Batra, Insolvency Expert.

The Government is planning to release the concept rules on the new company law by the end of January. "The Government wants to ensure that views of the Expert Committee are taken before the draft rules are released," said a senior official.