The Government has set up a Market Research and Analysis Unit in the Serious Fraud Investigation Office with the objective of improvements in the regulatory system in Corporate Sector. Giving this information in the Lok Sabha today Shri Salman Khurshid, Minister of Corporate Affairs said the unit will inter-alia perform following main functions:
(i) Repository of Information
To collect information from various sources including media, other investigating agencies, employees, investors, deposit holders, banks, financial institutions etc. and analyse the trends.
(ii) Improving investigation skills
To analyse all the completed investigation cases to see if investigation process was followed in letter and spirit. Any deviation and its resultant effect on the outcome of investigation would be brought out to form a base for further improvement in investigation skills.
(iii) Inputs for adopting best international practices
To study investigation cases carried out by the investigation departments of the respective agencies in other countries to analyse the procedure and systems followed in those countries. Investigation modules based on best international practices shall be developed by the Unit for guiding cases of investigation.
(iv) Coordination with other investigative agencies
To co-ordinate with other investigative agencies on continuous basis to collect the requisite information on managerial and corporate behavior. The information thus collected would be synthesised with the information collected through media and the data gathered from MCA-21 project. This information bank can be used to throw early alerts on deviation from the legally accepted behavior of the corporate entities.