Apart from a number of specific suggestions made by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs for strengthening Investor Protection, the Standing Committee of Parliament, which thoroughly examined The Companies Bill, 2009, has desired that the proposed Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF) should be utilized to provide immediate relief to small investors, who have suffered losses due to corporate defaults. Recognized Investor Associations should also be empowered to file class suits and also complaints to Central Government/Tribunal on behalf of a prescribed number of shareholders, the Standing Committee on Finance (SCF), which presented its Twenty-First Report pertaining to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs to the Parliament recently, has suggested.
