India: company law reform and Companies Bill 2011

Further progress has been made with regard to the reform of company law in India. The Companies Bill 2009 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 2009 and later referred to the Standing Committee on Finance for examination. The Committee's report was published in 2010 - see here (pdf) - and, since then, further work on the Bill has been undertaken. In a recent interview the Minister for Corporate Affairs said that an "entirely rewritten" Bill - the Companies Bill 2011 - would be introduced in the winter session of Parliament, following Cabinet approval. It is now being widely reported that Cabinet approval was given yesterday: see here or here.