1. Expenditure on Disaster Management relief will now be considered as an activity under the Corporate Social Responsibility by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA).

Disaster relief can cover wide range of activities that can be appropriately shown under various items listed in Schedule VII of the Companies Act, 2013.

For example,

(i) medical aid can be covered under 'promoting health care including preventive health care.'

(ii) food supply can be covered under eradicating hunger, poverty and malnutrition.

(iii) supply of clean water can be covered under 'sanitation and making available safe drinking water'.

2. Independent Directors on Company boards may soon have to clear exams before being appointed as a Director for the company. The exam is likely to be an online assessment covering the basics of Indian Company law, markets and ethics. There will be a fixed time frame to clear the exam however, the number of attempts will not be restricted.

Compiled by: Adv. Sachi Kapoor | Concept & Edited by: Dr. Mohan Dewan

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.