e-governance project set for revamp

The e-filing system, said to be the second biggest such system in the world after the US , was introduced two years ago and the ministry is now looking at launching the second generation of e-filing process, a note by The Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI)released at a seminar on e-filing here said.

The MCA-21 (short for the Ministry of Corporate Affairs while 21 standing for the 21st century reform) initiative was aimed at enabling electronic filing of forms by corporations.

"However, the ministry feels there is still a lot of room for improvement and, hence, has once again teamed up with Tata Consultancy Services for ushering in a newer version of MCA-21," the note said.

Once the revamped system is in place, companies would find it still simpler and convenient to file corporate information with the ministry while public and professionals would get easy access to relevant records and effective redressal of grievances, the note said.

The move will also help in effective compliance of relevant laws and improve corporate governance, according to ICSI.

"The ministry has asked the company secretaries to make suggestions to revamp the existing system and ICSI (western region) will offer its suggestions by June 16," Mahavir Lunawat, chairman , Professional Development Committee of ICSI (western region), said.

Thanks to MCA-21, over 700,000 registered companies in the country can make all statutory filings electronically, except those related to liquidation and winding up processes. Over 1.4 million directors of companies have already obtained the director identification number through the electronic facility, the ICSI note said.