Cabinet to take up changes to cos Bill
New Delhi: The Union Cabinet is to take up on Tuesday official amendments to the Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2003 that was introduced during the Budget session of Parliament. Certain provisions of the Bill, which is based on some recommendations of the Naresh Chandra Committee, the 1997 Companies Bill, and recommendations of the Joint Parliamentary Committee investigating the stock market scam had come for severe criticism from India Inc. The Department of Company Affairs (DCA) had decided to review the controversial provisions of the Bill. In fact, it is understood to have either diluted certain contentious provisions or deleted them.

According to the finance ministry sources, "there are likely to be almost a dozen changes." Some of the issues that had irked the corporate sector were the provision for right to transfer shares, and the provision that stipulates that an independent director on expiry of nine years becomes a dependent director and forfeits his qualification as an independent director.

Besides, this provisions pertaining to composition of board of a company, is also likely to undergo change. The proposal for making appointment of women on the board compulsory may not find its way in the final Act.
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