On March 25, 2021, Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman virtually launched 2 Tech-enabled initiatives of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) – Central Scrutiny Centre (CSC) & Mobile app of IEPFA (Investor Education & Protection Fund Authority). They aim to strengthen the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Digitally Empowered India’.
- Central Scrutiny Centre (CSC) – For Scrutinizing Straight Through Process (STP) Forms filed by the corporates on the MCA 21 registry.
- IEPFA’s (Investor Education & Protection Fund Authority) Mobile App – For spreading Investors’ awareness, education, and protection among investors.
- The main aim behind bringing the initiatives is to create a new corporate and investor friendly ecosystem & improve the Ease of Doing Business in India & Ease of Living for the people.
Central Scrutiny Centre (CSC)
CSC will scrutinize STP forms filed by Corporates on MCA21 registry and flag the companies for more in-depth scrutiny. MCA is one of the key primary sources of Corporate data.
- CSC has been established to ensure that data quality (of MCA) is uncompromised and free from flaws.
- CSC will communicate the data quality issues & irregularities to the concerned Registrar of Companies.
IEPFA Mobile App
It has been launched to achieve the goal of financial literacy, spreading investors’ awareness, education and protection among investors in both rural & urban areas. Primary goal being to push the Ease of Living.
Features
- It has been developed for Citizen engagement and information dissemination for promoting awareness among investors.
- The app also has the facility of tracking the status and progress of the IEPF claim and refund process.
- It also provides a mechanism for investors & common citizens to report on suspected fraudulent schemes.
Increase in Incorporation of Companies in India
- Nirmala Sitharaman stated that in the Current Year (2021) till February, around 1.38 Lakh companies have been incorporated by Central Registration Centre, which is an increase of over 17% compared to corresponding period of 2020.
- The increase is due to the result of initiatives like introduction of integrated forms like SPICe+ & Agile Pro for incorporation of Companies by the MCA.
Recent Related News:
i.On February 4, 2021, Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has amended the ‘Companies (Incorporation) Rules, 2014’ to make changes in the definition of One Person Companies (OPCs) Rules.
About Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA):
Union Minister – Nirmala Sitharaman (Rajya Sabha MP representing Karnataka)
Minister of State – Anurag Singh Thakur (Lok Sabha MP, Constituency – Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh)
