Press Information Bureau

Government of India

Ministry of Corporate Affairs

16-February-2012 18:03 IST

Need to move from government regulation to self regulation says Moily

There is an urgent need to move from government regulation to self regulation.  This was stated by  Union Minister for Corporate Affairs Dr. M. Veerappa Moily while delivering valedictory address at the 8th Corporate Registers Forum (CRF) 2012 here today.  He stressed on setting of norms and standards which attract the international firms and setting of standard norms that help to improve good governance.  The Minister said “Regulations can never be a substitute for personal integrity.”

Shri Moily said the present legal environment calls for unified regulatory prescription, as the corporates are operating across borders.  He said “ as transparency and compliance has become a business need, the self regulation has also become a necessity of corporates. Thus the legal system has to provide some broad framework focusing on key issues without getting into too much of documentations/filings”.

The Corporate Affairs Minister said each country should interact with other in respect of strengthening CRF and reinvent themselves - in terms of new learning, experiences. These have to be put up in their respective websites.  He said different processes are being adopted for common aspects like incorporation of companies, filing of charges etc., This meeting of regulators would strengthen the processes at country specific registrars through adoption of best technology/processes.

Shri Moily expressed the hope  that this meeting of registrars has been an effective tool in bringing uniformity in the operations that would create business friendly environment for business.  He thanked  CRF for providing India an opportunity to organize this conference.       

The Corporate Registers Forum an international body of Registrars of Companies world over organised its 8th Annual Conference from  13th  to 16th  February, 2012 at New Delhi.  With members from 42 nations, the Conference was attended by over 130 delegates from member jurisdictions besides a host of other invitees.  The event was hosted by the Ministry of Corporate Affars and the institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) was the knowledge partner for the event.

The theme of the Conference “Control to Self Regulation – Sharing Knowledge – Sharing Best Practices” was deliberated upon in nine technical session as under:

·         Reforming Legislative Environment – A global perspective

·         Global Business scenario and Impact on Corporate

·         Corporate Actions and Regulatory Mechanism

·         Emerging Challenges for MNCs operating in various jurisdictions

·         Corporate Governance and CSR

·         Social networks; use and impact on Registrars’ functions

·         Transforming data into knowledge: Leveraging XBRL Tools

·         Crystallizing global best practices in Corporate Regulation

·         Corporate Financial Actions and Money Laundering

The first technical session on “Reforming Legislative Environment – A global perspective” deliberated upon the role of IT in regulation of corporate and business reforms.  The speakers stressed on moving from Government Regulation to Self Regulation.  The second technical session on, “Global Business Scenario and Impact on Corporates” focused on self regulation.  The World Bank representative spoke of business rankings.   While the other speakers focused on the setting of norms and standards which attract the international firms and setting of standard norms that help to improve good governance.  There was a special session on MCA-21 – an e-governance project of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, where a live demo of the working of the RoC offices in the country was given.  During the session, “Corporate Actions and Regulatory Mechanism”, focus was on the regulatory framework of SEBI, MCA, regulatory framework at Malaysia with respect to incorporation process, annual routine foundations and filing such as annual return and audit of account, winding up process etc.  The session “Emerging Challenges for MNCs challenges, flexibility in Jersey Laws, etc.  The session concluded with a fact that certainty of laws, flexibility of processes, CG issues are important, for MNCs.  Further, engagement between regulator and the potential customer is essential.  The technical session on “Social Networks Use and impact on Registrars’ functions” focused on the predominant activity on the internet being social media has both positive and negative aspects.  The session also covered as to how NZCO uses social media such as Facebook, twitter, google plus, etc. for their social networking in respect of sharing information.

The Forum’s Conference for year 2013 would be held in New Zealand. The Conference provided an excellent opportunity for India to showcase it growth and development story and specially the MCA-21 – an e-governance initiative implemented by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.       

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Samir/bs

Self regulation: corporates urged to adopt standards, harmonised frameworks and technology to improve governance and compliance. A shift from government-prescribed controls toward self regulation is urged, advocating broad legal frameworks that set core standards and norms rather than detailed documentation to enable transparency and cross-border corporate activity. The text promotes harmonised regulatory prescriptions, registrar cooperation, adoption of common processes and technology such as MCA 21 and XBRL, and international knowledge-sharing to crystallise global best practices and improve corporate governance.