Highlighting the important features of the Companies Act, 2013, the Minister of Corporate Affairs has said that the Act is the result of intensive consultative process by his Ministry with industry, professionals, corporates and other stakeholders. Addressing a FICCI - ICSI (Institute of Company Secretaries of India) Joint Programme on the Companies Act, 2013: ‘A New Law for a New Era’ here yesterday, Shri Sachin Pilot said that the new Law focuses on the global best practices and meeting the legitimate expectations of all stakeholders. It is a 21^st century legislation that has the potential to unleash huge economic and social value, he said. He said the new legislation is investment- friendly and would allow freedom to small investors like craftsman and villagers to get the credit facility and other facilities by forming a legal entity i.e. one person company.

On the draft rules which have been placed on the website of the Ministry, Shri Pilot invited any number of suggestions so that the best rules can be had in place and assured that every suggestion would be given due consideration. The Corporate Affairs Minister also emphasized that India has a huge untapped investment potential and foreign investors need to get the signal that India is a safe and profitable investment destination. The Minister said he would take up the case for incentivizing CSR projects by the Corporate through tax exemption and reliefs with the Finance Ministry.

Companies Act reforms expand access to credit and business formation while promoting CSR incentives and stakeholder consultation. The Companies Act, 2013 modernizes company law to align with global best practices, facilitate wider access to credit and business formation through the One Person Company structure, and signal an investment friendly environment. The Ministry has released draft rules for stakeholder consultation and committed to consider submissions. It also intends to pursue fiscal incentives, including potential tax exemptions or reliefs, to encourage Corporate Social Responsibility projects in coordination with the Finance Ministry.