THEBUSINESSBYTES
BUREAU
BHUBANESWAR,
JUNE 2, 2026
The Bhubaneswar Chapter of the Eastern
India Regional Council (EIRC) of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India
(ICSI) co-hosted the Bhubaneswar edition of the National Stakeholder
Consultation Series on Ease of Doing Business under the Companies Act, 2013, in
collaboration with the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA) under the
aegis of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), Government of India.
Held on May 29 at the ICSI Bhubaneswar
Chapter premises, the consultation formed part of a nationwide initiative of
the MCA through IICA to facilitate broad-based stakeholder engagement on the
rationalization, simplification and modernization of corporate compliance
frameworks under the Companies Act, 2013.
The initiative is aligned with the
vision of Viksit Bharat @2047 and aims to strengthen India’s next-generation
regulatory architecture through technology-enabled, stakeholder-centric and
trust-based governance reforms.
Delivering the keynote address,
Gyaneshwar Kumar Singh, Director General and CEO of IICA, underscored the need
for a shift towards intelligent, trust-based and data-driven regulatory
architecture. He highlighted the evolving reform framework that seeks to
balance regulatory effectiveness with ease of compliance through streamlined
filing systems and stakeholder-centric digital governance mechanisms.
Addressing the gathering virtually,
Balamurugan D, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, called upon
professionals to support both industry and government in developing seamless
and effective mechanisms for improved corporate governance.
Sanjay Kumar Gupta, Joint Director,
Regional Director Office, South Eastern Region, emphasized the importance of
simplified filing systems, stronger digital governance and responsive
compliance processes to support India’s growing corporate ecosystem.
The programme was coordinated by
Sitaram Sharan Gupta, Registrar of Companies-cum-Official Liquidator, Cuttack,
Odisha.
Speaking on the occasion, Srimanta
Baboo, Chairman of the ICSI Bhubaneswar Chapter, expressed gratitude to the
MCA, IICA and ROC Odisha for entrusting the chapter with hosting the
consultation. He stressed the significance of collaborative institutional
engagement in advancing compliance reforms and noted that the consultation
offered professionals a valuable opportunity to present their views directly to
policymakers and implementing authorities.
A detailed presentation on the
proposed MCA Filing Architecture Reform framework was delivered by Dr. Garima
Dadhich, Head, School of Business Environment, IICA. She outlined key reform
measures including form rationalization, expansion of Straight Through
Processing (STP), pre-filled digital interfaces, integrated compliance systems,
interoperability with external regulatory databases and the transition towards
an event-based filing architecture under MCA21 Version 3.
Structured stakeholder deliberations
were conducted through thematic sessions covering Entry and Incorporation;
Annual and Ongoing Compliance; and Exit, Dormancy and Special Filings.
Discussions focused on issues such as SPICe+ rationalization, director KYC
centralization, integration of AOC-4 and MGT-7 filings, annual business return
frameworks, charge filing rationalization, dormancy mechanisms, fast-track
strike-off systems, restructuring workflows and the digitization of
adjudication and exit processes. Interactive polling exercises were also
conducted to capture stakeholder feedback.
The consultation witnessed active
participation from around 90 delegates representing ICSI, ICAI, ICMAI, CII,
FICCI and various industry bodies, reflecting strong stakeholder interest in
shaping the future of corporate compliance reforms.
The event reaffirmed the importance of
participative dialogue in building responsive, technology-enabled and
trust-based corporate governance frameworks and advancing ease of doing
business under the Companies Act, 2013.
