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.
Briefing reporters here, Mr. Mehta said these Secretarial Standards provide detailed procedures on issues such as agenda of the meeting, notice convening the meeting and maintenance of the minutes. “These are mandatory 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 was ‘Capital Markets – The Engine for Economic Growth’.
Speaking at the event, S. Krishnan, Tamil Nadu Principal Secretary (Planning & Development), 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.
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.
