Union Minister of State for Corporate Affairs Salman Khurshid said the proposed new Companies Bill would give more thrust to accountability, transparency and discloser norms with more focus on minorities, especially access to information related to business.
Participating in a seminar on ‘Innovision 2010,' organised by the Southern Region of the Confederation of the Indian Industry here, he stated that corporate governance and social responsibility were closely related. The Minister said the corporate sector could not remain a mute spectator when there was social imbalance.
Union Minister of Handlooms and Textiles Dayanidhi Maran wanted entrepreneurs to find innovative ways to increase power production.
Mr. Maran said if the country had to achieve a growth rate of 8 to 9 per cent then there should be 20 to 25 per cent growth in the power sector, for which heavy investment was required.
Venu Srinivasan, president, CII, said agriculture and manufacturing sectors were key areas which required focussed attention.
The manufacturing sector was not able to deliver goods owing to power shortage. It was unfortunate that agriculture productivity was stagnant at 2 per cent where 70 per cent of the population depended on it.
Revolution in agriculture could not be brought out by giving subsidies to farmers and it was possible only by through improving the competitiveness of the farmers, which had not been done so far.
Other issues confronting the sector was labour shortage, lack of storage facilities, wastage of grains and produce which were not fit for processing.
The entry of the organised sector in agriculture was necessary for agriculture transformation.
Involvement of corporate bodies would improve the quality management and delivery system.
Mr. Srinivasan also wanted the corporates to find innovative ways for utilising services of youth. They should be engaged constructively and innovatively. One reason for insurgency in some parts of the country was due to lack of employment to the educated youth, he added.
Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII, highlighted the initiatives of CII in the area of corporate governance and also said that CII in partnership with National Foundation for Corporate Governance (NFCG) was promoting best corporate governance practices among corporates.
