The Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) has sought early passage of the new Companies Bill.

ICSI President Nesar Ahmad has said he has requested Yashwant Sinha, Chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, to work towards approval of the Bill in the ongoing Budget session of Parliament.

The Bill, which will replace the Companies Act 1956, seeks to give a fillip to the cause of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate governance.

Besides, the Bill will make it mandatory for firms to maintain their documents in electronic format. It also introduces the concept of e-governance, makes provision for encouraging ethical corporate behaviour and rewards employees for their integrity.

The provision on making secretarial audit mandatory will provide necessary comfort to investors, the ICSI President told reporters in Vadodara on Friday.

Once the Bill comes into force, there will be a huge demand for company secretaries in the country and ICSI is all geared to meet this challenge, Ahmad said.

A new vision and mission formulated by ICSI wants Company Secretaries to lead Corporate India as Governance professionals, he added.