Number of active cos limited by shares rises to 10.46 lakh

The government has taken various steps to promote the growth of corporate sector and the number of active companies limited by shares so far this fiscal has increased to 10.46 lakh, the Lok Sabha was informed today.
"Company limited by shares" means a company having the liability of its members limited by the memorandum to the amount, if any, unpaid on the shares respectively held by them.
As on March 31, 2015, the number of active companies was 10.15 lakh with a paid up capital of Rs 22.95 lakh and by December 14, of this fiscal year, the figure has increased to 10.46 lakh such companies with paid up capital of Rs 24.99 lakh, according to data provided by Corporate Affairs Minister Arun Jaitley to the Lok Sabha.

The government has taken a number of steps to promote the growth of corporate sector and improve the ease of doing business in India, he said.
Elaborating on various such initiatives, he said, 14 services across various departments and agencies like the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), Reserve Bank and the Department of Corporate Affairs have been integrated with the eBiz portal.
Moreover, the application process for Industrial licence and Industrial Entrepreneur's memorandum has been made easy by simplifying the form and making the process online and the validity period of industrial licence and security clearance from Ministry of Home Affairs has been increased.

Moreover, DGFT has issued notification to limit the documents required for exports and imports to three and the process of obtaining environment and forest clearance has been made online.

Besides, the Union budget announcement for this fiscal has proposed to gradually reduce the rate of Corporate Tax from 30 per cent to 25 per cent over the next 4 years.
"Ministry of Corporate Affairs has notified various amendments to the Companies Act, 2013 which makes it easier to do business," Jaitley said.
These amendments include introduction of integrated e-forms for simplifying the process for incorporation; doing away with the payment of minimum paid up capital at the time of incorporation as well as declaration of commencement of business.