Lok Sabha passes bill to amend companies law
New Delhi: Lok Sabha on Saturday passed a bill to further amend the Companies Act and decriminalise various compoundable offences and promote ease of doing business.
The Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2020 -- which seeks to decriminalise various penal provisions and introduce a new chapter related to producer organisations in the legislation -- was passed by the Lower House.
Speaking on the bill, Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said decriminalisation of various provisions under the companies law will also help small companies by reducing litigation burden on them.
Around 48 sections of the Companies Act, 2013 will be amended to decriminalise various offences.
Sitharaman said there are currently around 124 penal provisions compared to 134 in 2013 under the Companies Act.
Stressing that there will be no relaxation for serious offences, including fraud and those that cause "injury to public interest or deceit", the minister said the number of "non-compoundable" offences under the Act remains the same at 35.
Generally, compoundable offences are those which can be settled by paying certain amount of money.
There will also be a new chapter on producer organisation, the minister said, adding that it will be particularly helpful for farmer producer organisations.
For promoting "ease of doing business," the minister said that 17 provisions will be amended.
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AIITA welcomes Karnataka’s ban on obscene songs in school events
Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.
AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.
“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.
He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.
“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.
According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.
In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.
AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.
