New Delhi, Oct 31 (PTI) The new Companies Bill is likely to give more powers to the Registrar of Companies (RoC) to monitor the end use of initial public offer (IPO) funds, a move that would require a 10-fold increase in the strength of the RoC.

"The RoC would need around 15,000 people, if it were to monitor the end-use of public issues as is being talked about," a finance ministry source said.

The RoC, which is responsible for incorporation and keeping the record of over eight lakh companies, have a strength of about 1,500.

In a meeting with the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, which scanned the provisions of the Companies Bill 2009, the RoC officials have said that the manpower strength of all regions need to be increased by at least 10-fold, sources said.

Registrar of Companies oversight of IPO fund end use may require major staffing expansion to enforce new monitoring powers. The Companies Bill proposes empowering the Registrar of Companies to monitor the end use of IPO proceeds, expanding RoC functions beyond incorporation and recordkeeping to active compliance verification; RoC officials told the Parliamentary Standing Committee that operationalizing such monitoring would require a substantial increase in regional manpower and resources, given the current cadre responsible for records of over eight hundred thousand companies.