The Lok Sabha has granted approval to refer the Corporate Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, to the Joint Parliamentary Committee for further examination. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the bill in the lower house, seeking amendments to the Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008, and the Companies Act, 2013, with a focus on enhancing ease of doing business and reducing compliance burdens for small firms and startups. Opposition members, including Manish Tewari, Sougata Ray, and Dr. T. Sumathy, raised concerns about the dilution of Corporate Social Responsibility provisions in the proposed legislation.
The bill aims to decriminalize minor offenses, introduce civil penalties in place of certain criminal provisions, and support the establishment of produce companies by farmers. Sitharaman assured that the amendments were developed after extensive consultations with industry representatives, professionals, and the public to promote corporate governance and attract investments. The Company Law Committee, formed by the government in 2019, played a key role in recommending changes to enhance the business environment.
The Committee, comprising notable figures such as T.K. Viswanathan, Uday Kotak, Shardul S. Shroff, G. Ramaswamy, and Sidharth Birla, submitted its final report on March 21, 2022. The recommendations put forth by the Committee were further reviewed by the High-Level Committee on Non-Financial Regulatory Reforms, led by Rajiv Gauba. The Finance Minister had announced the establishment of this committee in her 2025-26 budget speech to streamline non-financial sector regulations and processes for better governance and efficiency.
