Sameet Gambhir, Vice President ( Corp Law ) & Company Secretary, DCM Shriram Ltd On Budget 2023

As a Corporate Compliance person and more particularly from the perspective of retail investors of the country, I find a couple of interesting and encouraging takeaways.

IEPF Authority to make the process easier

The first and foremost is the proposal to set up an integrated Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF) Authority to make the process of reclaiming shares and dividends easier. This is very important because the feedback we get from the retail investors is that once their shares and dividend are gone to IEPF, the process to claim those are a little cumbersome and investors, particularly senior citizens, are struggling to get their hard-earned invested money back. So this integrated authority and IT portal will surely be quite helpful for them. 

Centralisation of forms

Secondly, it is also proposed by our Hon'ble FM to set up a Central Processing Centre for faster response to companies through centralised handling of various forms filed under the Companies Act, 2013. 

Good news for General Counsel and compliance officers / Company Secretaries

The FM also mentioned that SEBI will also be further empowered to enforce norms and standards for education in the National Institute of Securities Markets ("NISM") and to recognize award of degrees, diplomas and certificates. Which is also a welcome step for compliance and investors perspective.