The new Secretarial Standards, recently specified by the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI), on board of directors meetings and general meetings of corporates, approved by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, will be coming into effect from July 1 2015, according to Atul H. Mehta, President, ICSI.
Addressing presspersons here on Thursday, Mr. Mehta said these Secretarial Standards provide detailed procedures on issues such as agenda of the meeting, notice convening the meeting ,maintenance of the minutes. “These are mandatory and apply to listed and private companies,” he said. “Around eight lakh companies in India will have to comply with these Secretarial Standards to be fully compliant under Companies Act 2013,” he said.
Mr. Mehta was here to inaugurate “Capital Markets week” an initiative by ICSI towards creating awareness among investors and to promote good governance in capital markets. The theme of the programme, being held at five places across India from May 25 to 31, is “Capital Markets – The Engine for Economic Growth”.
Earlier, speaking at the event, S. Krishnan, Principal Secretary (Planning & Development), Government of Tamil Nadu, said capital markets played an important role in mobilising finance for the corporate sector. “Developed, dynamic and vibrant capital markets immensely promote economic growth,” he said.
Ms. Mamta Binani, Vice-President, ICSI, said the role of company secretaries was gaining importance after the market regulator SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) had mandated in November 2014, the appointment of Company Secretaries as compliance officers in its listing regulations. There were 40,000 members in India including 6,500 members holding certificate of practice and four lakh students pursuing the Company Secretary ship course, she said.
Makarand Lele, Council Member, ICSI and Chairman, Financial Services Committee, Ramasubramaniam, Council Member, ICSI & Programme Director, ICSI Capital Markets Week and Nagendra D. Rao, Chairman SIRC of the ICSI were present at the event.
