MCA 21, the ambitious e-governance initiative of the ministry of company affairs, will go on stream in 25 locations, effective from April-end. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will launch the project officially in Delhi on March 18, paving the way for the companies in the largest registry (with over 1.4 lakh companies) to cut time and cost substantially in meeting the statutory requirements.
Apart from e-filing documents, the MCA 21 portal would also facilitate the inspection of company documents and requisition of certified copies. The central secretariat of MCA 21 would be in New Delhi, which would be linked to four regional directors in Noida, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata- and 20 offices of registrars of companies across the country.
To ensure the security of documents to be filed electronically, digital signature certificates have been made mandatory for all companies to use the facility, Mr Mallik said. Besides, all the 14 lakh directors will need to register themselves online for obtaining the director identification number (DIN). All existing directors are expected to get the DINs by June 2006, while new directors would also be offered DIN.
According to the official, all stakeholders - businesses, the public, professionals, banks and financial institutions and the government- would benefit from the e-governance initiaive. Software development for MCA 21 was done by TCS, which will also implement it over the next six years.
The project cost is estimated at Rs 345 crore, of which Rs 314 crore is in terms of the fees paid to TCS. Once the infrastructure is in place and the systems run smoothly for six years, companies would be able to file almost totally from their virtual offices.
Breathing space
- The move will pave way for over 1.4 lakh companies to cut time and cost in meeting statutory requirements
- The MCA 21 portal would facilitate the inspection of documents and requisition of certified copies
- To ensure the security of documents, digital signature certificates have been made mandatory
Autor: KG Narendranath
Quelle: The Financial Express, 17.03.2006
