New Companies Bill may get nod by year-end: Khurshid

The new Companies Bill with stricter corporate governance norms is expected to be enacted by the end of this year, Corporate Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said today.

Companies Bill 2009, which lapsed with the dissolution of the 14th Lok Sabha, was reintroduced in the Lok Sabha in August last year.

"The omnibus (companies) Bill will seek to give shareholders, particularly the minority shareholders a voice and balance the interests between the minority and majority shareholders... I hope that it will be enacted by the end of this year," Khurshid said at the diamond jubilee celebrations of the Press Trust of India here.

The Bill comes in the backdrop of the multi-crore accounting fraud in Satyam Computer Services last year that exposed gaping holes in the existing corporate governance norms in the country, highlighting the need for stricter norms.

Khurshid said the the new Companies Bill seeks to fix more responsibility on independent directors and the government is currently framing out norms for their appointment and conduct.

The new legislation, he said, will also protect the rights of the minority shareholders, bring about responsible self-regulation with adequate disclosure and accountability and lesser government control over internal corporate processes.