Lok Sabha Question No. 5857 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-30
Subject: Protection of Investors
Ministry: CORPORATE AFFAIRS
Asked by: Dr. M P Abdussamad Samadani

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5857 ANSWERED ON MONDAY, 30 th  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, noncompliances of statutory provisions of the Companies Act, 2013. Similar enforcement  actions  are  undertaken  in  respect  of  Limited  Liability Partnerships (LLPs) under the LLP  Act, 2008. Based  on  the  noncompliances 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 deposits/ debentures,  etc.  to  investors,  promoting  awareness  among  investors, making  refunds of shares, unclaimed dividends, matured 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 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
- (EPFO) Registration (vii) Employees State 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.

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## 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 Widows/ Dependents | 63.63        | 68.04        |
|        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, Malnutrition      | 1,282.73     | 1,233.93     |
|       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 women         | 49.50        | 41.80        |

| 20    | 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 | 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.

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