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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5857
ANSWERED ON MONDAY, 30th MARCH, 2026
CHAITRA 09, 1948 (SAKA)
PROTECTION OF INVESTORS
5857. DR. M P ABDUSSAMAD SAMADANI :
Will the Minister of CORPORATE AFFAIRS be pleased to state:
(a) the steps taken by the Government to protect the interests of
investors in the country;
(b) the steps taken by the Government to simplify company registration
procedures for small companies;
(c) the extent to which Corporate Social Responsibility projects have
been helpful in the development of rural areas;
(d) the steps taken by the Government to speed up the registration
process of companies;
(e) the policies adopted by the Government to create new job
opportunities through the growth of large companies; and
(f) the schemes implemented by the Government to make Indian companies
competitive in the global market?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS; MINISTER
OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS.
(SHRI HARSH MALHOTRA)
(a) : The Ministry administers the Companies Act, 2013 which includes
various provisions of enforcement, compliance mechanism to ensure
protection of interests of investors. The enforcement mechanism includes
ordering of inquiries, inspections or investigations under sections 206, 210/
212 of the Companies Act, 2013 in cases of misuse of funds, fraud, non-
compliances of statutory provisions of the Companies Act, 2013. Similarenforcement actions are undertaken in respect of Limited Liability
Partnerships (LLPs) under the LLP Act, 2008. Based on the non-
compliances reported, proceedings of adjudication, fine and prosecution,
as the case may be, are initiated against such companies / LLPs and / or
their directors/ partners, Key Managerial Persons, auditors, etc. Further,
compliance under different sections of the Act is implemented through
mandatory filings by companies with a view to ensure that relevant
information is available to the investors/ stakeholders.
In addition to above, this Ministry has constituted Investor Education and
Protection Fund Authority under section 125(5) of the Companies Act,
2013. This Authority is entrusted with the responsibility of administration
and utilisation of the Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF) for
making refunds of shares, unclaimed dividends, matured deposits/
debentures, etc. to investors, promoting awareness among investors,
thereby protecting the interests of the investors.
(b) : The Government from time to time has taken several initiatives for
speedier incorporation of companies including small companies and also
to provide single window services at the time of incorporation. The
significant initiatives taken in this regard, so far are as under:
(i) The Central Registration Centre (CRC) has been set up to
expedite and streamline the process of company and Limited
Liability Partnership (LLP) incorporations.
(ii) A single integrated new web form called SPICe+ along with AGILE
PRO-S has been deployed. This form provides eleven services
related to starting a business namely (i) Name Reservation (ii)
Incorporation (iii) Permanent Account Number (PAN) (iv) Tax
Deduction Account Number (TAN) (v) Director Identification
Number (DIN) (vi) Employees Provident Fund Organisation
(EPFO) Registration (vii) Employees State Insurance
Corporation (ESIC) Registration (viii) Goods and Services Tax
(GST) number (ix) Bank Account Number (x) Profession Tax
Registration (Mumbai, Kolkata and Karnataka) (xi) Delhi Shops
and Establishment Registration.
(iii) No fee is charged for incorporation of all companies with
authorized capital up to Rs. 15 lakh or with up to 20 members
where no share capital is applicable.(c) : Under the Companies Act, 2013 (Act), Corporate Social Responsibility
is a Board driven process and the Board of the company is empowered to
plan, decide, execute and monitor CSR activities of the company based on
the recommendation of its CSR Committee. This Committee formulates and
recommends the CSR policy, which outlines the activities to be undertaken
by the company in alignment with the areas (including rural areas) or
subjects as specified in Schedule VII. The first provision to Section 135 (5)
of the Act provides that the company shall give preference to the local area
and areas around it where it operates. However, the emphasis on local
areas is only directory and not mandatory in nature and companies need
to balance local area preference with national priorities. The amount spent
in last two years sector-wise is at Annexure.
(d) : The steps taken by Government to speed up registration process of
companies is as per the reply to part (b) (i) & (ii) above.
(e) & (f): The provisions of the Companies Act, 2013 and the LLP Act,
2008 enable companies/LLPs to pursue any lawful object thereby
encouraging them to pursue activities which result in growth, innovation
and creation of new job opportunities. The Government has been making,
from time to time, various changes in the provisions of the Companies Act,
2013 and the LLP Act, 2008 and the rules made thereunder to facilitate
ease of doing business, rationalize compliance framework and enable
business friendly environment for such entities. These initiatives are aimed
at promoting growth of the corporate sector including large companies and
making them competitive in global market.
*******Annexure
In reply to Part(c) of Parliament Question No. 5857 for 30.03.2026.
Sector-wise CSR expenditure for FY 2022-23 and FY 2023-24
(Amount in Rupees crore)
Sl.No. Sector-wise FY 2022-23 FY 2023-24
1 Agro forestry 67.28 74.47
2 Animal welfare 325.44 531.14
3 Armed Forces, Veterans, War 63.63 68.04
Widows/ Dependents
4 Art And Culture 449.21 704.04
5 Clean Ganga Fund 46.15 62.96
6 Conservation of natural resources 584.65 423.47
7 Education 10,414.93 12,134.57
8 Environmental Sustainability 2,008.04 2,429.97
9 Gender Equality 121.15 204.17
10 Health Care 7,023.60 7,150.81
11 Livelihood Enhancement Projects 1,703.64 2,360.09
12 Other Central Government Funds 187.70 208.14
13 Poverty, Eradicating Hunger, 1,282.73 1,233.93
Malnutrition
14 Prime Minister's National Relief Fund 855.23 589.61
15 Rural development projects 2,059.41 2,408.09
16 Safe drinking water 252.78 327.45
17 Sanitation 438.81 375.23
18 Senior citizens welfare 153.91 159.82
19 Setting up homes and hostels for 49.50 41.80
women20 Setting up orphanage 44.99 31.57
21 Slum area development 94.22 38.82
22 Socio-economic equalities 159.19 200.81
23 Special education 319.50 396.57
24 Swachh Bharat Kosh 56.69 140.12
25 Technology incubators 1.48 1.91
26 Training To Promote Sports 542.53 692.09
27 Vocational skills 1,206.75 1,396.55
28 Women Empowerment 417.26 454.22
29 NEC/Not Mentioned* 1.65 68.32
Total 30,932.07 34,908.75
(Data up to 31.03.2025) (Source: Corporate Data Management Cell).
* Companies either did not specify the names of sectors or indicated
more than one sector where projects were undertaken.
*****